Blending In
by Helpless-Lemon
Summary: The Ed's were in desperate need of a new school and weren't particularly picky on where they wanted to go. However, after accepting the offer to attend two schools, it turns out that neither one is what meets the eye. If they want to stay, they have to pretend to be exactly like the inhabitants. But how can three humans pretend to be something more than human?
1. 1 Off the Bus

The bus was quiet, in the relative sense.

One would expect a bus to be filled with students, making their way to school. Some would roughhouse with their buddies, throwing each other across seats while the bus driver shouted at them to stop. Some would whisper, trading secrets before the day began. Some would even sit in isolation, play games on their phones to make time fly.

However, only three occupants were inside. So, the bus, in the relative sense, was quiet.

The three boys, varying in age and temperament, were silent as the bus drove on. One slept as the other two watched the scenery fly by. The silence was only broken by the flipping of pages or the blips from a videogame. For anyone that knew them, it would be seen as uncharacteristically quiet. In a relative sense, of course.

Maybe it's time to fix that.

The bus hit a speedbump, causing it to jump wildly, the passengers startled out of their comfortable silence. The sleeping one fell to the floor with a crash and yelp, while the other two scrambled to keep their things from crashing down with him.

"Sorry about that boys," The driver said, looking behind him. The one on the floor was cursing up a storm, but it appeared that the other two were alright all considering.

"It's fine sir!" The boy put the bookmark between the pages, adjusting his beanie. "Our friend here is just fine, just took a little spill."

"What are you talking about Sockhead, I was just launched halfway across the bus!" Sockhead, better known as Double D, could only roll his eyes. "Eddy, would you please stop engaging in hyperbole and just sit down. We've had such a peaceful ride so far, could we please keep it that way?"

"Don't you patronize me, that freaking hurt." Eddy grumbled, moving between his friends. Running his fingers through his hair, he fixed it back into his usual style. "You go the time? How long have we been on this stupid bus anyway?"

"A month." Ed, the tallest of the group, said while clicking away at the buttons. At the stares of his two friends, he laughed he pointed at the console in his hands. "That what is says in my game."

"That does not denote the actual flow of time, Ed. It's only been four hours. Surprisingly long distance for a bus to take." Eddy groaned at Double D's explanation, hitting his head against the leather seat. "Are we even _close_ to being there yet? Hey, buddy!"

The driver turned his head questioningly. "Something wrong, child?" Ignoring the pleas from his friend, Eddy continued. "How much longer are we going to be stuck on this deathtrap? Unless it's in the middle of nowhere, this shouldn't be taking so long."

"Not much longer." The driver turned his attention back to the road. "Just need to go through one more tunnel." Eddy groaned even louder, holding his head in frustration. "Why couldn't we have taken the van. At least I'm comfortable in that."

"He's got a point Double D," Ed said as the game let out a victory noise, letting him look away from the screen. "Probably wouldn't have taken a month to get here."

"I just said that- never mind." Double D pinched the bridge of his nose. "The schools said we had to take the bus here first. They never explained why, but they will bring the van over eventually. Something about being transported there 'properly'."

"And that didn't sound shady to you? Aren't you the smart one here?" Eddy cackled, shoving his friend jokingly. Double D could only roll his eyes. "I suppose that didn't sound right at first, but from I looked up about the schools, everything else appears to be legitimate." A pause. "Though, that was after some serious background research."

"Ugh," Eddy opened up one of the backpacks, rifling through it until he produced a couple of brochures. "By the way, who named these freaking schools? Evelynn Aster? Merston? I seriously don't these guys were anyone important."

"You should see the town names." Ed plucked one of the brochures away from Eddy, waving around the Merston one. "_New_ Salem? That one just sounds _awesome_." What could only be described as a squee left Ed's mouth, looking extremely excited more than anything.

"You're excited that they named themselves after the town that burned witches? It's not even the same one!" Eddy threw his hands up into the air. "If you want to go to a place called Salem, go the actual one, you loony."

"You're just mad that you have to go to someplace called Bookend." Ed stuck his tongue out, though that only resulted in him getting a light punch to the shoulder. "Of course, I'm mad! How lame does a place have to be named after a book? Seriously, what kind of small-town stuff is that?"

"Eddy, we're from a small town. Besides," Double D made sure to grab both brochures out of his friends' hands before folding them properly and putting them away. "Both towns are practically intertwined, and the schools are not far from one another. So you don't have to worry about being separated, Eddy."

All to quickly and unconvincingly, Eddy rolled his eyes and denied the statement. "I wasn't worried about that. Like anybody could tear us apart." It didn't fool anyone, if Ed's smile and Double D's chuckle was anything to go by. Desperate to move past the conversation, Eddy shouted to the front of the bus once again.

"Hey, are we anywhere close to that tunnel you mentioned earlier? We're dying back here." The bus driver laughed something akin to a cackle, not bothering to look back. "Don't worry, child, we'll be reachin' our destination soon. Just in the matter of three…" He trailed off, looking straight ahead.

Double D tried to look forward by looking through the window. "Looks less like a tunnel. Just a bunch of trees." He narrowed his eyes. "Strange, there shouldn't be a forest around here. Should be flatlands as far as the eye can see."

"Two…" The driver didn't seem to be paying attention to the Ed's, eyes focused on the road intently. If anyone of them had been paying attention, they would have noticed him tense as they kept driving towards the trees. They weren't far now, the road under them in sight.

"Who cares. Ed, what level are you on. I finished that a week ago, so I might be able to help." Ed shrugged, leaning the screen towards Eddy. "Level 15. I think I almost made it."

"Level 15?! That took me weeks to get there, how the heck did you do it in four hours?"

"One." The driver switched gears suddenly, causing the bus to jump and ending all conversations at once. The bus made contact with the dirt road, causing the bus to shift yet again, everything getting dark.

The screen of the game flashed out as Eddy fell on the floor once again. Everything was pitch black as a hum passed through the car, loud enough to reverberate within everyone's bones. The bus began to shake, with the engine pitching a loud whine.

"What the hell is going on?" Eddy yelled, scrambling to get off the floor. Climbing into the seat behind him, he grabbed onto Ed, who instantly grabbed him tightly. Double D, however, could only scramble to make sure everything in his arms stayed together, hugging to them tightly. The lights kept going in and out, slowing flitting more and more until…

Everything went back to normal.

"Sorry about that boys." The driver jovially shouted. "Went through a bit of a rough patch. Shouldn't happen again."

If he had looked behind him, he would have noticed the tangled mess the Ed's were in. The silence right after the fact was soon interrupted by the frantic scrambling to get off of each other. "Sockhead, you see anything outside that could have made that noise?" Eddy asked, whispering as he kept his eyes on the old man.

Double D made sure to look out the window and behind them for confirmation of anything strange, but could only see the forest surrounding them. "Nothing I can think of, Eddy." He couldn't even see the tunnel they supposedly went through, now that he thought of it.

"Aw man!" The two jumped as Ed finally said something, turning towards him. "Dude, what's wrong?" Eddy prepared himself for whatever Ed seemed ready to throw at him, looking intently at his friend.

"Look!" Ed thrusted the game console towards Eddy's face, having gone back to the start screen. "My game didn't save."

Many groans could be heard from the bus that day.

The bus turned around, driving off into the distance as the Ed's stared ahead to the towns below.

There was a very notable contrast to the two, similar to fraternal twins when it comes to similar layout but different structures. Like two architects, in fierce competition, decided to see which town they could build better with similar plans.

One could be called "gothic," mostly because the lack of a better description. The buildings, despite looking modern in infrastructure, looked almost three times older than the boys themselves. Creepy gargoyles on every tall building, shadows encompassing many areas, very few places seemed to have natural light pierce it. It looked almost like a cemetery than a city.

This was New Salem.

In contrast, was Bookend. With wide open spaces, with wooden houses that seemed to be stuck between traditional and modern. Parks with wide open spaces littered the area, with spots of communal gardens lining the area. While New Salem seemed comparatively dead, Bookend was crawling with nature, sunlight, and some strange sense of purity that radiated from it.

"…Well, isn't this like a "Tale of Two Cities."

"Eddy, you never read that book."

"Shut up, Sockhead." Eddy adjusted his backpack, looking over the towns with a critical eye. Why were they built so close together? "So, where are we going first? I'm going to that Evelyn Aster place, right?"

"Correct." A shuffling of papers and Double D was reading over the pamphlet again. "It seems like a wonderful place and it seems like it has a good deal of history behind it, though I was unable to find that much information about it. The same goes for Merston as well, which we should head to right after Evelyn Aster to get you situated there, Ed."

"Awesome, I get New Salem! Score one for Ed." Pumping his fist in the air, the ginger Ed boy celebrated. "Ed, that place is creepy as hell. Why would… oh, wait, of course you wanna live there." Eddy mumbled to himself. A thought occurred a second later.

"Hey," Double D quit looking over the brochures to listen to his short friend. "You never told us what school you're going to. Which one is it?" He could only shrug. "Both, apparently. I'll supposedly be an intermediary and attend classes for both schools."

"Of course, you decide to two schools. Of course, you do." Eddy laughed and dodged Double D's attempt at hitting his arm. "Just messin' with ya' Sockhead. Good for you. Seems a little weird to me, though."

"Maybe so, but this is something that could go on a resume one day. College isn't that far away." Double D starts heading for Bookend, pulling out a map. Evelyn Aster wasn't that far and he was eager to get started. Ed and Eddy followed behind shortly, making sure to take in the sights.

"You make it sound like all of us are going to college." Eddy laughed, though it wasn't as happy this time around. "Eddy, I'm sure we could make it. There are various scholarships we could apply for beforehand." Double D gave him a look before turning back to the map.

"Still doesn't mean we have the cash flow to pay for all of it." A huff escape Eddy's lips, adjusting the bag on his shoulder. Ed looked up from his game once again. "He's got a point Double D. We're broke, right? Besides, me and Eddy aren't smart enough for college."

"Yeah!" A pause could be heard before Eddy piped up again. "Hey, who are you calling stupid, Lumpy?!" Eddy tackled Ed, trying to wrestle him to the ground. He didn't have much luck as Ed, the brick wall he is, only hugged him back with all of his strength. As the shortest Ed boy struggled to breathe, Double D only rolled his eyes at the display.

"Gentlemen, I understand if neither of _want_ to go to college but saying we can't is quitters talk. As said before, scholarships are aplenty if we look for them properly. Let Eddy go now." At the simple command, Eddy was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground. He grumbled for a few seconds but got on his feet with nary a word. Looking around himself, he kept making notes of the city after they passed each building.

"Hey," He couldn't help but ask one final question. "Does this place just reek of old money, or is it just me?"

Apple White, the heiress of the most renowned fairy tales in all the lands and the top of her class, was standing outside the headmaster's office, which was admittedly very strange.

While yes, she was a part of many different clubs and has worked closely with the faculty in the past. It wasn't that unusual, but for her, it was particularly strange since she had none of those meetings right about now. It was probably nothing, as she had assured herself on the way here, but there was one factor that was concerning her.

Primarily, it was the shouting going on _behind _the door that was making her anxious.

"Milton, I swear to you-"

"Swear _what?_ I have done nothing wrong here and we both know-"

"_Do not tell me what I know_. You promised that-"

"Giles promised this, not me. I promised nothing of the sort-"

It had been like this for several minutes now and Apple was forcing herself not to squeeze her nails into her palms. She really wasn't looking forward into going in there, but she couldn't leave either. She was sure Milton had a direct line to mother at all times and her not being present would be on her radar in minutes.

As much as she didn't want to pry, she really was curious what the two were talking about. She didn't necessarily see who went in there, but she seemed furious with Headmaster Grimm for some reason. She hoped it wasn't anything serious. If it wasn't for the fact it would be seriously rude, she would eavesdrop more.

Too bad she had a reputation to uphold.

Before she could contemplate things further, things began to quiet down in the office, much to her relief. As she began to relax, however, the doors opened with a bang. With a huff and grumbling under her breath, a pale woman exited the office, heels clicking as she turned and walked down the corridor.

If her hair was only a bit longer, Apple would have almost mistaken her for Mother. While it was cut too short, her heart still skipped a beat.

Sighing, Apple finally decided to walk into the office, feeling the tension wash over her in waves. Greeted by the site of her headmaster hunched over the desk, she heisted for a moment to speak.

"Headmaster Grimm? You were expecting me." At the sound of her voice, the headmaster was startled into reality. Fixing his hair and quickly sitting up straight, the faux confidence barely hid the exhaustion. "It's good to see you, Miss White. Sorry for the delay, I was just…" He looked at some of the papers on his desk in disdain. "…In the middle of something. I hope you weren't waiting long."

"Not at all." She had been waiting for fifteen minutes, but it would look bad if she complained. "I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier; I was just getting to know my new roommate."

"Ah, right." Milton blinked. "You and Miss Queen. Is everything going well? I was a bit surprised to hear that you wanted to board with her this year." The he didn't mention their story hung in the air.

"Oh, everything's going well. I'm not sure she liked how I decorated her side of the room, but everything seems fine." Apple fiddled with a loose thread on her dress, trying not to notice the look of disbelief on Headmaster Grimm's face. "I really do think this will give us an opportunity to know each other better. For the sake of our story."

"Hmm." It was a sound of disbelief, but she heard no objections from him. "I suppose if that's all, I don't see a reason to stop you. I actually called you up here for a different reason."

Headmaster Grimm stood up, dusting himself off. Apple tilted her head, curious. "Is there another club that needs opening, Headmaster?"

"Nothing like that, unfortunately." He waved off the question before setting his hand on the small of her back, guiding her out of the room. "We're just receiving some… new students today and it looks like they'll need a proper guide. I was hoping as class president you would…?"

"Oh!" Well, that was an easy task for her. She was usually in charge of that anyway, so it wasn't that much of a surprise he would call her here. What wasn't normal about it though was he appeared to be a little apprehensive about this. "Is there something special about this? Usually you aren't this nervous about new students."

He tensed. "My fellow _headmaster_ at the other school decided to try and commit to a new _project_ of hers." He seemed to be gnashing his teeth, if she could guess. "These new students will be a step to having our school and the… _other _school begin to cooperate with one another. You'll be escorting three, but only two of them will actually attend our academy. One of them full-time, the other is a part-timer."

Now _that_ was interesting. "Oh, that sounds nice to hear." She almost started skipping at the news. "It'll be nice to get over this silly rivalry. Any idea of what they'll be like?" The possibilities seemed endless! What stories would they star in? Do they have stories to be a part in or would they find out while they were here? How would their schedules divide up so they can work together for a better future for the schools?

"I don't actually know. She was quite tight lipped on the situation." Grimm grumbled some insults that she failed to catch. "They are boys and that is simply all I know. I'd be careful, though, I don't know exactly how well they'll behave."

"Not an issue, sir. I'll get right on it." In the hallway now, she began heading for the entrance of the school, humming a soft tune under her breath. The headmaster could only shake his head, pinching the bridge of his nose while exhaling.

"I feel a headache coming on for some reason."

Headmistress Bloodgood made sure to sip her coffee loud enough so the two students in front of her would hear. Looking over them carefully, noticing their nervousness and agitation, she carefully put the cup down, sighing softly.

Seeing Ms. Wolf and Ms. De Nile in her office was just another annoyance for today.

"Now, do I have to be the one to start this conversation? Or will one of you admit to why you're both here for?" She carefully said, twisting the cup in her hands carefully. Her eyes went over both students quite carefully. They didn't budge, however, deciding to make this more difficult then it had to be.

"Alright then." She clapped, causing the two to jump. "Let me start with a few questions then. How did this start exactly?" 

Clawdeen Wolf decided to finally speak up. "Cleo wanted us to try the pyramid, even with Toralei having a busted knee. When it fell, she apparently decided it our fault and started yelling at us."

"Only because you and the rest collapsed before you even made the pyramid." Snorted Cleo de Nile, filing down her nails and checking them periodically. "Besides, I never specified who had to go at the top of the pyramid, Toralei could have easily went up there herself."

"She can't really _do_ that if her leg was sprained. Maybe if you listened and let up on practice for once-," Clawdeen would have continued, but the glare Bloodgood shifted to her got her quiet. The smirk on Cleo's face at the action was quick to follow when the headmistress looked her way also.

"I don't care exactly who started it, I wanted to know what led to you two almost destroying the girls locker room." She didn't like being stern, but she was beginning to tire of dealing with their behavior as of late. "This is the third time this week you've publicly fought, and I am beginning to lose patience here, ghouls."

"But-," Cleo started for a second, but was immediately shushed. "I know that you two have some issues to deal with, but that shouldn't come at the expense of the school. I would suggest trying to get along in the near future, otherwise I will start to separate you two in a more _permanent_ fashion. Including fearleading practice." Looking at Cleo once again, she narrowed her eyes. "Believe me, your positions aren't as concrete as you think."

Both girls sighed in defeat, looking to the ground. "Yes, Headmistress Bloodgood." They said in unison. They both shared a fierce glare for a second, but knocked it off immediately to pay attention to the teacher.

Bloodgood sighed. Troublesome as they were, thankfully the damage was only minimal. "As it is, you aren't in too much trouble. However, I will have to punish you to make an example. Ms. De Nile?"

The mummy straightened up into a prim and proper pose. "You will help fix the damages in the girls locker room and straighten things out. Also, you will apologize to your fearleading team as soon as possible. Not everyone bends to your wishes like your servants."

The grimace on Cleo's face was obvious, but she at least didn't complain out loud. She stood up and without as much a goodbye, left the room to finish her chore.

Clawdeen, nervous, awaited her own punishment as Bloodgood looked her way. "As for you, Ms. Wolf, I'm surprised how much your fighting with Ms. De Nile has escalated. Usually you're more levelheaded than this and don't let petty conflicts effect the whole team."

"Yeah, well she made it personal." Clawdeen crossed her arms and huffed. "We've been working our tails off these past few days and she's never satisfied. Somebody ahs to talk some sense into her."

"Hm." Bloodgood didn't appear to be amused. "I'm well aware of your history with her, Ms. Wolf, but that doesn't excuse property damage. Your lucky that it's such a common thing here, otherwise you'd be facing a worse punishment." She didn't particularly enjoy seeing the ears on top of Clawdeen's head wilt under her criticism, but at least the point she was making came across.

"Yeah, yeah." The werewolf only mumbled, tapping her foot impatiently. "You gonna tell me what the verdict is or should I just go help Cleo?"

"No, you two have fought enough for one day." Bloodgood took another sip of her coffee before standing up. "I actually wanted you to show around some new students that will be coming by today."

Clawdeens ears stood up at attention at the news. "Oh, we're getting some new monsters? I thought the school wasn't taking anymore applications until later."

"It's part of a project that I'm currently involved in." The headmistress motioned for her student to stand up. "We're getting two new students today, but a friend of there's will be with them as well. Three boys, so they won't be too much trouble."

"Anything particularly special here or are they just 'normal' students." Clawdeen questioned, pulling out her phone to text her friends. Might as well tell them she'll be busy later.

"Not particularly. I wouldn't be surprised if they don't know how to deal with other monster though, so don't be too surprised if they happen to act…" Bloodgood trailed off at the end, trying to think of the right word. "…_Surprised_ to see everything. I would suggest going in 'human' form to keep things simple."

Clawdeen raised an eyebrow at this, but she didn't think to question it. "Okay. Weird, but I can work with that."

"Good." The relief was palpable on the headmistress's face, which only raised further questions for the werewolf. "That's the first piece of good news I've heard all day. They'll be coming here later today, so you can do whatever you please for now. I'll send a message when you're needed."

Clawdeen gave a quick salute before heading outside her office. Bloodgood sat down, exhausted by the encounter.

"Things seem to be working out for now." Bloodgood muttered to herself, rubbing her eyes. She caught sight of a picture frame caught face down on her desk. She quickly averted her gaze, sighing softly.

"This better work. I didn't put my career on the line for nothing." She said, moving out of her chair and out of her office in search of something to do before insanity decided to hit the school.


	2. 2 Orientation

**Hello everyone, looks like I finally got the second chapter up. Sorry it took so long, but a combination of taking another class, finally getting and starting a job, and other stuff just caught up with me. To make up for it, I made sure this one was long enough so that you guys would get plenty of content to satisfy you. This is mainly to set up the base for future interactions, but I think it's a good start. The next chapter will be much shorter and also posted sooner, if things go according to plan. Now, I hope you all enjoy and that have a good day and you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

"Yeah, this places just _reeks _of old money. I'm seriously not the only one thinking that, right?" Eddy made a mental note of every person they walked past, noting everything he could catch. The clothes were a dead giveaway, most of them obviously made by material he couldn't hope to afford in his lifetime. Not to mention how everything smelled so _clean _here compared to virtually any other town he's been in. "I'm supposed to go to school here?"

"Yes, Eddy." Double D rolled his eyes. This was the third time Eddy was going on about this place and it was starting to get quite annoying. "It's a little higher class than what we're used to, but you and I will simply have to get used to it. It's a good school, so we cannot afford to make any mistakes here."

"It's real pretty too." Ed made sure to stop at every window they went past, making sure to check each shops inventory. "I mean, just look at these cool looking stores! Oh, maybe we could go to that nearby forest. Maybe there's some cool stuff in there to check out. Or we could look for a comic bookstore!"

"Doesn't look like this place has a lot of those, Ed." Eddy put his hands behind his head, relaxing a bit at the atmosphere. A brief glance didn't reveal much of anything like what Ed was looking for. "Even if there was, we're low on cash. Maybe if we swindle a few bucks out of some people who won't miss it…" A gleam slowly formed in Eddy's eye.

"No." The sudden dismissal from Double D caused Eddy to sputter. "We'll have plenty of things to do at our respective schools and shouldn't have to resort to scams for a long while. We can't afford to get kicked out of these places Eddy."

Eddy snorted. "Well, _excuse_ me. Not like I can turn the switch off Sockhead." He looked down to the ground, kicking it. "We've been doing it for months anyway, what's the difference?"

"He's got a point Double D." Ed nodded, not really getting the mood of the situation. "We are running low, especially after the last city."

Double D groaned but attempted to stifle it. He turned to his friends and began to walk backwards. "Alright, we apparently need to establish some rules now. One, we cannot swindle, cheat, or lie to anyone to get money while we're here. We need to be on our best behavior."

Eddy rolled his eyes and began looking around the area, Ed only nodding away while Double D continued.

"Two," Double D paused, getting his bearings. "We need to keep our past a secret. It's rare that we can make a first impression, we should keep it good."

If he had been paying attention, he would have noticed the two had stopped listening sometime before he finished rule one. However, he also would have noticed Ed suddenly perk up, trying to look at something behind him. Ed suddenly slapped Eddy on the back, startling him. Before Eddy could complain, his friend seemed to point at something behind Double D that kept him quiet. "Uh, Double D?"

"Three, we have to remain respectful to the teachers while we're here and keep up decent grades. If we don't, then we will be kicked out for sure and that won't be good in the long run. I will make you two do your homework, I swear it on my life!"

"Sockhead." Eddy narrowed his eyes, while Ed seemed to be jumping with glee. Just what the hell was he looking at right now? There was no way in hell this was real.

"Four." Double D barely looked at Eddy for a second before moving forward. "No fighting with other _students_, especially if it's trivial. Best behavior on _all_ accounts. We do not need another Kevin situation."

"Sockhead, I'd really suggest turning around." Eddy said, starting to point lazily behind him, eyes still narrowed in disbelief.

"Really." Double D stopped moving and crossed his arms. "Now why should I do that?"

"Because there's a castle behind you! Come on Double D, look!" Ed seemed ecstatic, jumping on one foot as he excitedly pointed behind his friend.

A sigh escaped Double D's mouth. "I'll look, but I would suggest coming up with something better in the future. Besides," He turned around and continued to talk, amused disbelief in his voice. "The brochure didn't mention anything about a… castle?"

The Ed were near the foot of large hill, surrounded by trees that cut off the school from the rest of the town. The vegetation thick, they could not see far in to indicate any signs of life within. At the top of said hill, lay what was probably the most impressive building they would ever see in their lifetimes.

A castle stood there, white with red roofs at the top, with various towers and buildings consisting of the exterior. In a strange mix of medieval and modern architecture, many modern buildings seemed to connect to tall towers straight out of a children's book. The campus, while slightly obscured by the trees, were not far away and showed a large expanse of cobblestone walkways, a fountain in the middle.

A truly beautiful place, at least to the outside observer.

The Ed's weren't sure what to say and were almost rendered speechless.

"What the hell?!"

Except for that.

"Is-is that the freaking school?!" Eddy ran his hand through his hair incredulously. "Who designed this place? Sockhead, did the brochure say anything about this?"

"No, nothing! How in the world does this _exist_? I certainly would have heard about it before, I researched everything about this place up and down." Double D flipped through the brochure once again, not finding a single mention of the place.

"Yeah, well how do you explain this! Jesus, the rich people here must be _way_ to loaded to care. Are you sure we can't get some cash out of them?"

"We are _not_ going to try anything here, Eddy. Even if you appear to be right. Who in their right mind would build a castle like that?"

"That's what I was asking _you?!_"

"Hey, guys." Ed said, trying to interrupt the screaming match. Nobody seemed to hear him, though, as his friends only continued.

"Maybe this isn't the right place. I mean, this could be some historic building that's been through several renovations. Going to school at a castle would be absurd. We should just- we should just leave."

"Hell no. I walked all the way over here, we might as well visit Hogwarts preppy sister school while we're here."

"Guys." Ed's pleas went unheeded once again. He started tapping his foot, hoping the fight would be over soon.

"Eddy, this obviously can't be it. This might be someone's private property for all we know. Maybe it's a summer home."

"_Who owns a castle as a summer home?!"_

"Yeah, you guys have fun. I'm going on an adventure!" Ed proudly set forward, heading for the castle in the distance. The fight continued behind him uninterrupted.

"Look, we shouldn't argue over this." Double D sighed and rubbed the sides of his head, staving off an incoming headache. "We're supposed to meet someone at the front gates of the school soon and I don't want to be late. Let's settle this the old fashioned way."

Eddy smiled. "Fine. Ed, you're the final vote. Make your choice!" He turned around, making a sweeping gesture and pointing at whatever stood in front of him.

Dead silence and empty air were the only things to greet him.

A beat was taken as the remaining Ed's stared at where their friend was, like they were awaiting a response from nothing.

"He left while we were talking, didn't he?"

"Most likely."

"…Great."

* * *

Apple was a little nervous, though she didn't necessarily know why. She'd done the orientation for new students a million times over by now, even when school was in full swing. It was routine at this point, especially since she became class president.

"That argument must have thrown me off." She mumbled to herself, checking her phone for the third time since arriving in the courtyard. She wasn't exactly given a specific time to come here, but she hoped they arrived soon. It was around noon and she was free for the next few hours, but she still always wanted to be at the ready in case she needs to help someone else.

Apple couldn't help but feel a little curious at the newcomers. If they were coming into school this late, the two that would be attending here wouldn't necessarily know their destiny yet. The fact that one of them would be going to both school's part time would be interesting, but it was still unusual. Also, a monster was joining them too. Would she know what type of monster when she sees them, or would they still be in disguise?

She sighed. She closed the calendar full of events on her phone, making note of some upcoming projects she was a part of. She'd most likely know them when she saw them.

"ED! For crying out loud, Lumpy, wait up!"

The sudden shout made her jump, causing her to juggle her phone. She's definitely never heard _that_ voice before.

Looking in the direction of the shouting, she could see two boys running after a third one, who seemed to be ignoring them happily. As he was walking, he looked around himself peacefully, blissfully unaware of the two people rapidly catching up with him. He seemed to be completely in his own world.

Until the short one tackled him, that is.

Apple sighed. Looks like she found them.

* * *

"What in the world were you thinking, Ed? We're in a completely new and strange place without a map, wandering around is definitely not a good idea! And Eddy, what did I say about being on our best behavior."

"He's the one that decided to run off. I was just trying to make sure he didn't do anything crazy before we got here." Eddy was dangling off of Ed's neck, obviously not impeding his giant friend in the slightest. He still tried his best to pull him down, but Ed was still too heavy to move.

"And dangling off of our friend won't cause attention to ourselves?" The sarcastic response from Double D was accompanied by a raised eyebrow and crossed arms. However, he couldn't help but look around himself. "Though I can't say this place isn't beautiful at first glance. Not a lot of people around, thankfully."

"Yeah." Ed responded, turning around, causing Eddy to swing along his neck. "It's almost deserted for a cool place like this."

"Like a lot of people are going to willingly come to school a month early, Sockhead. Not everyone's a nerd like you." Eddy let go of Ed, dropping to his feet carefully. He stretched, looking around as well. He could see a football field in the distance, along with a stadium nearby. "Maybe this is the place. Still, freaking rich people."

"Indeed."

A pause took over the group as they looked around, drinking in the strange sights around them. Eddy then sighed, starting to get impatient. "Should we start lookin' for an office or is someone gonna show us around?"

"I think that would be _my _cue."

The sudden new voice jolted them out of their conversation. The Ed's tensed at the sight of a strange, blonde girl walking towards them carefully, wearing the frilliest dress they've ever seen in their lives.

Apple White has entered the scene.

* * *

Headmaster Grimm felt a chill go down his spine. He didn't exactly know why, but he felt like there was a major disturbance or a premonition was coming on. A premonition of _what _exactly was the fact he couldn't put a finger on.

"Damn it, Bloodgood." He growled. That _meeting _he had with her must have set him on edge. _Why _exactly she wanted these students in so badly confused him, especially since this also dealt with _his_ school. Sure, the idea of a student going to both sounds good on paper, but actually trying it would be extremely difficult.

But she was so _insistent_! Just wouldn't give up on the idea, even if he had said no for the millionth time in a row. The only reason he caved was because they were already here.

"Right." The reality set over at remembering that detail. He would have to finish up the transcripts she brought in. Just what was she planning? Why was she so insistent on this blasted idea?!

…Oh. He'd almost forgotten about _him_.

Milton Grimm looked in the direction of the picture frame facing downward on his desk. He would have to move that at some point, at least so it wouldn't clutter things up. He promised himself that yesterday, yet he hadn't.

…He'd move it tomorrow, he promised himself. Getting up from his chair, Milton moved to the bay window behind him, looking over the school. _His_ school.

"Whatever your planning, Bloodgood, expect me not to play nice." He looked over past the courtyard, past Bookend, the city of New Salem catching his eye. The fog surrounding it seemed thicker than it had been before.

The chill returned.

* * *

"I'm sorry to keep you all waiting. Headmaster Grimm didn't exactly tell me when you would get here." The polite and gentle tone got them off edge, thankfully, but she couldn't help but notice the weird looks they gave her. Apple knew how people generally looked at her, but these ones were unreadable.

"That's, uh, that's okay. We just got here." Double D straightened out his jacket hesitantly, starting to feel… _underdressed_ all of a sudden.

"Oh, good. I was hoping that I wasn't too early." The polite demeanor was disarming to say the least, if the Ed's could admit. She seemed genuine in her worry.

A little too genuine if Eddy could say so himself. He couldn't help but narrow his eyes at the new stranger, looking her over carefully. Beauty products, expensive-looking clothes, and what he could only assume to be a _crown?_ She had to be a stuck-up rich kid.

"Yeah." Eddy reigned in the suspicion from his voice. "You said you were supposed to be the one taking us around the school, right? Mind telling us your name?"

"How rude of me. My name is Apple White. It's nice to meet you three."

Yep, definitely a rich kid. Only rich parents would give their kids a name like that. Eddy noticed Sockhead wince. Looks like he came to the same conclusion too.

"Nice to meet you!" Ed extended his hand, oblivious to the tone of the conversation. "My names Ed."

To Apple's credit, she didn't exactly shy away from shaking Ed's hand, but the strength behind it caught her off guard. Eddy snickered, earning an elbow to the ribs from Double D.

"Good behavior." He whispered, before turning to their host. "Sorry, Ed is a bit stronger then he looks. My name is Eddward, but to avoid confusion, you can just call me Double D." He extended his hand also for a much gentler handshake.

"You two have the same name? That's a little odd." Apple raised an eyebrow curiously, the irony of her saying that completely lost on her.

"Three actually." Eddy stepped up to the plate, still keeping his guard up. He didn't believe the sweet girl act for a second, but it made things easier for now. He shook her hand too, looking her in the eyes carefully. "We're all called Edward, but I personally prefer Eddy. Remember it, you'll probably hear it a lot."

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Double D mumbled, their guide hearing it anyway. She didn't necessarily know what to make of the last statement, but at least they seemed friendly.

"Oh, so you'll be attending here! I hope you have a great time, especially when school officially starts." She looked between the two's demeanors and was immediately trying to determine what story they were involved in. She didn't necessarily remember any characters being missing, so new students were definitely a surprise.

"Yes." Double D attempted taking over the conversation from Eddy, giving his friend the side-eye. "Our friend here is joining us before we take him to the other school. I'll be the one attending both, so I figured it would be easier if we all stayed together."

Apple nodded, humming in acknowledgement. She looked over the Ed again, this time a little more pensive. She didn't know much about the school in New Salem, but Ed didn't exactly look like a normal student there. A little strong, perhaps, but he otherwise appeared normal.

Maybe he was wearing a good disguise? Hopefully she'd have the chance to ask later.

"That's fine. We should actually start soon, I have a few appointments later. Class president duties never, after all."

"Right." Double D adjusted the bag on his shoulder carefully. The Eds moved a little closer together, Ed smiling as usual while Eddy looked around lazily.

"Lead the way, princess." Eddy said confidently, causing the group to move forward. As they started to head for the entrance of the school, they passed a slab of marble, a plaque containing a name. Eddy read over it.

"_Ever After High? These guys take spirit week way too seriously."_

* * *

If Apple could say anything about the state of the tour, she would have to say it was going well. Not the most eventful, but it made things easier to say the least.

However, the group was certainly odd. The shortest one seemed to get more and more irritated whenever she introduced certain buildings such as the stables, the sports field, and the stadium. She swore the phrase "freakin' rich people," came up multiple times. The tall one seemed endlessly fascinated by nearly everything, like he hadn't seen any of it before.

So far, the only normal one was the boy wearing the beanie, but it looked like he was starting to err on the his short friends side. At least they were mostly well behaved.

"Ed, please get your hand out of that vase."

"I can't, it's stuck!"

Well, mostly.

Eddy was laughing hysterically as Ed and Double D attempted to take a vase off his arm. She only looked away for a second!

"Um, is your friend alright? How did he get his hand stuck in there?" She asked Eddy, who was stifling his laughter into small chuckles and wiping at his eyes.

"It's just Ed, he'll be fine. He thought there would be candy in it." Eddy didn't make any move to help, watching as Ed panicked relentlessly. Another laugh escaped his mouth as Ed bonked Double D on the head. "This isn't the first time. He'll get out of it eventually."

Ed hopped on one foot, using the other to pry the vase off of his hand, with Double D trying to pull it off. Unfortunately, Ed tripped up and fell backwards, taking Double D with him, sending Eddy into another fit of laughter.

"If you say so." Apple was unconvincing as it appeared, she was biting back a laugh herself. It wouldn't be proper to laugh at this, of course. Still, it appeared Eddy almost caught it.

She changed the subject.

"Excuse me, if it's not a hassle," The Eds stopped from getting the vase off and looked to their guide. "There's probably something in the potions room that can slip that right off. We just have to head this way."

Before they could say anything, she turned away from them and started to head off. A second of scrambling occurred as the Eds began to follow a bit away from her.

"The potions room? They're calling the chemistry lab that? Seriously they are definitely going too far for a spirit week." Eddy huffed, putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Eddy, please stop complaining. I cannot say that it isn't a little strange how dedicated they are to this, but I thought that was something you appreciated when it comes to the street performers we've met."

"Yeah, but they do that for a _living_. Isn't this supposed to be a school?"

"Okay," Double D stopped, turning towards his friend. "You've said for years that school is virtually the most boring place in the world. Now when one does something that could be considered quite theatrical, you ask for professionalism."

"…I'm allowed to change my mind." Eddy grumbled, crossing his arms.

Double D threw his hands in the air in defeat. "There is no pleasing you."

"C'mon Eddy, this place is _so cool_. They have horses here, Eddy. _Horses_." Ed got close to his friends face, looking almost intimidating for someone that got his hand stuck in a vase.

Eddy sighed. "Fine, whatever. This place is kinda cool, but that doesn't erase the fact that this is a rich kid school. Especially for that Apple girl." He looked around himself, noticing something particularly alarming.

"Hey, where is her Highness anyway?"

A moment of silence occurred before a resounding curse was collectively shouted, causing them all to head down the hallway.

* * *

Clawdeen was still trying to calm down from earlier. A part of her was still seething from the fight, but she was still pushing it down for later. She got off easy this time, especially for destroying a locker room, but she knew she wouldn't get lucky twice. Even if it was getting back at Cleo.

…She'd have to apologize to the other fearleaders later. She hadn't necessarily done anything _to _them, but what happened back there wasn't pretty. At least no one was caught in the crossfire.

"Dammit," Clawdeen muttered to herself, messing with her ICoffin. Her schedule would be a little messed up today, so she'd have to miss the appointment with her fabric girl. She'd have to delay some commissions from her buyers online, which will definitely cost her some cash.

Why did Headmistress Bloodgood want her to tour some new kids around anyway? It was better then detention, sure, but she figured someone else would be better for the job. She was probably recruited because someone cancelled on short notice. It wasn't like she _couldn't_ do it either, but she wouldn't mind some help. Maybe someone more acquainted with the school somehow…?

"_Clawdeen, you've been muttering for several minutes now."_

The werewolf jumped, almost dropping her phone. Turning around quickly, she found the gloomy face of a very familiar zombie.

"Jesus, Ghoulia, you almost killed a ghoul. How are you this quiet?" She should have heard her friend a mile away, but she must have been _really_ distracted. She might have to correct that if this was any indication.

"_You weren't exactly being subtle, Clawdeen. Something on your mind?"_ The werewolf was glad she had sprung on the zombie language course a couple years back, which made understanding her friend so much easier. Still, she hesitated at the question.

"Nothing much. Just got a job from Bloodgood. Wanted me to show some new students around on campus for a bit. Not sure why she picked me though."

"_Probably because you and Cleo wrecked the girls locker room."_

Damn it, she already heard about it.

"Yeah, that too." She nervously laughed, trying to brush off the subject. She put her hand on Ghoulia's back, starting to lead her down the hallway. "Anyway, what's up with you? Finishing up your summer project?"

"_The finishing touches will start soon, but I have to take a break today since Cleo has been texting me for half an hour about having to clean everything up."_

And, it looks like she won't let go of the conversation. Still, good to hear that Her Highness was suffering a little.

Clawdeen sighed though, steeling herself. "You gonna tell me getting' into a fight wasn't the smartest decision? That I should try to forgive her and everything?"

"_No."_ Ghoulia calmly flipped through a book, scanning the pages faster than one might think. Her tone was surprisingly flippant.

"Well, I doubt you're going to say I was right, either." The werewolf folded her arms, huffing slightly at the calm demeanor of her friend.

"_Also no." _A particular page caught her attention, a more thorough scan being required. After seemingly absorbing the information, she pushed forward in her book once more.

Clawdeen groaned, stomping her foot on the ground. "Then what are you going to say here? I can't learn anything if you don't tell me."

The zombie sighed, closing the book with a small thunk. _"There isn't really much I can say about the situation. As much as I don't like either of you fighting, it's hard to say neither one of you have a point. You have a right, and even good reason, to be angry."_

"Couldn't you just pick a side. Would make things so much easier if you did." The two began to slow, the atmosphere starting to weight them down. "At least if you sided with Cleo, I'd understand. Wouldn't be happy about it, but I'd understand."

Another deep sigh escaped Ghoulia, eyes facing forward. _"We both know I'm not the confrontational type. Besides, that's not what I'm here for." _She slowly turned to her friend, signaling for her to stop. _"I might as well help both of you during this time and I already gave Cleo some tools to make cleaning up the locker room easier. You said you were bringing new students along?"_

Clawdeen nodded, deciding to drop the subject for now. The only thing worse then getting into arguments with Cleo was trying to push Ghoulia into agreeing with either of them. "Yeah, some new guys are coming along. Bloodgood said they won't be used to this place and to go in human form. Not exactly sure why and what she expects me to show them."

"_I already have a few ideas as to where you can start. I can help plan a good route for you based on the schedules of everyone else in the school to prevent traffic and conflict, depending on how you want to go about it." _Somehow, there was a phone already in her hands, which she was tapping at furiously. _"__**Especially**__ for whenever Cleo gets done cleaning."_

Clawdeen chuckled a little, the miserable air disappearing completely. Looks like things were finally looking up.

* * *

"Alright, looks like the chemistry lab should be right up ahead. So, no Ed, chewing your arm off would not be a good idea." Double D said, exasperated. The tour was still going well, considering there wasn't anything exploding as of right now. However, the vase on Eds hand was still a present issue.

"How did you get your hand stuck in there? Who just puts their hand in a vase?!" Eddy continued to lecture Ed as they walked, waving his hands in the air sporadically. His amusement had long worn off at this point. Ed looked guiltily at the floor, not meeting his eye. "Why did you think candy was going to be in there in the first place?

"It was colorful and pretty. That's usually where the candy is." Ed mumbled pitifully, rubbing his arm. Eddy facepalmed, cursing under his breath more, while Double D couldn't help but sigh at his friends answer.

"Alright, can we please just make it to the chemistry lab? I'm sure our guide there is worrying about us and we should just-"

As if the cosmic forces of the universe aligned to interrupt Double D, an explosion rocked the ground beneath as the door to the chemistry lab flew open. A flash of burnt pink flew out, landing on the wall opposite of the door. The Eds, while used to explosions, instinctively moved back out of the blast radius.

The pink blur was revealed to be a teenager around their age, who other then her strange coloring, was notably wearing a large hat. She coughed out some ashes and started to giggle, getting up while smoothing out her dress.

"Well," she said, the smile on her face becoming larger by the second. "Maybe missing wormroot with dragon spit was _not _the best idea, but still fun nonetheless."

This was followed shortly by two people quickly moving out of the room. "Maddie, are you okay? I thought I said not to use that stuff! Seriously, if you weren't you, you would probably be dead by now." A girl that the Eds could only call an elegant goth ran toward her friend, helping her brush off the leftovers of the blast.

"Raven, her ears are probably ringing. I don't think she can hear a single thing you're saying." A girl wearing a large red hood moved at a more leisurely pace, watching as the girl in pink started getting up.

"Hey girls!" The pink girl, known as Maddie, shouted with no awareness of how loud she was actually being. Clearly, her hearing was a little shot during the explosion. "Wasn't that _amazing?_ Not what I was going for, but still pretty fun."

"See." The hooded girl pointed out, Raven pinching the bridge of her nose while sighing fondly. "Completely fine. Ready to bounce back at any moment." Raven gave a small glare to her sarcastic friend before going back to checking over Maddie.

Meanwhile, the Eds were simply just watching this all go down. They looked at each other speculatively before Eddy decided to helpfully quip.

"Looks like we won't be the only ones causing things to explode around here." Eddy smirked, which was quickly wiped off his face as Double D punched his arm. "Hey, I meant that as a good thing!"

"Eddy, don't make fun. We should probably help them. Besides," Double D pointed at the figure of their tour guide frantically running out with bandages and other supplies, already trying to dress Maddie up in them. "It looks like our guide is her."

"You sure? Looks like this isn't their first explosion. Besides, it looks like Ed almost has the vase off already, we can just bail and head to the other school." He pointed at his friend, who kept pushing the vase off with his foot, gaining inch by inch.

Suddenly the vase popped off. Ed looked at his friends and raised his arms in victory, ignoring the vase as it, somehow began bouncing around everywhere.

"I did it!" Ed celebrated, bouncing around on his feet as the vase ricochet off a locker and flew up towards the ceiling. The vase then fell, the open end facing downward, falling right onto Ed's head and engulfing it completely.

Ed stopped celebrating before patting the vase having a hold of his head, carefully and checking it over. He then sighed and slumped forward. "False alarm guys."

His friends groaned in unison, with Eddy stomping the ground in anger. "Fine," he said, irritated. "Let's get some help from the rich kids."

As they moved forward to deal with the issue, they couldn't help but hear the frantic muttering of Apple as she attempted to bandage her pink friend. It almost looked like she was mummifying her in the process.

"How does this keep happening, Maddie? I always tell everyone to properly label the chemicals after every explosion. I should just do it myself. I am so _sorry_, I'll buy you some tea later to make up for it."

That was at least some of what they could hear, the rest being said in a hurry. Eddy figured that it would be best to end this train wreck now and get the interaction over with.

"Hey, uh, princess? Everything alright over here?" Eddy looked over the other students carefully as they turned his attention to them. "I mean, seems like you got this down to a routine already but…" He trailed off at the end, sarcastically pointing at the victim in question.

"No, this happens all the time… oh dear!" Apple seemed to stop mummifying the poor girl for a second, realizing they were there. "I left you behind in the hallway, I'm so sorry. I assumed you were behind me-"

"Woah, back up, it's fine." He backed away from the frantic girl, hands in front of him. "We made it, that was the point anyway. Is Pinks here okay, or does she need to go to the nurse or something?"

"Hi, nice to meet you! I'm Maddie!" Maddie decided to interject, having not heard a word of the conversation thus far. She extended a mummified hand to Double D, almost karate chopping him in the face in the process. "What's your name?!"

"Maddie, your shouting again." The goth said, tapping her friends shoulder. This received a questioning glance from Maddie. She sighed. "Maddie, your hearing is shot right now. You're shouting." She said it slower this time, making sure her friend could read her lips.

Maddie seemed to realize this and nodded, giver her a thumbs up. "Got it!" She said, no change in volume whatsoever.

The goth sighed once again. She turned to the boys. "This happens a lot. I'm pretty sure she's immune to explosions."

"Uh, it appears that she is quite alright, despite the temporary hearing loss." Double D began to respond, trying to steer the conversation into something manageable. "To answer her question, though, my name is Eddward. Double D for short. The charming one right here is Eddy."

Eddy gave a sarcastic peace sign, rolling his eyes. "Yo." Double D punched his arm, causing him to rub it, glare at him before sighing. "Fine. Nice to meet you or whatever." He could tell Double D wasn't satisfied by this response but figured that was the best he would give.

"Nice to meet both of you," The hooded girl started, noticeably staring behind them. "But I'm a little more curious about the guy with a vase on his head."

"His head? Don't you mean on his hand?" Apple looked to where the hooded girl was staring, finally seeing Ed. "How in the world did that happen?"

"He got it off his hand." Eddy deadpanned.

"Why was it on his hand?" The hooded girl asked again, narrowing her eyes.

"I thought there was candy in it." Ed scratched his neck where the skin met the vase.

"Why did you think there was candy in it?!"

"Irrelevant!" Double D yelped out. As the silence engulfed the hallway, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ms. White, do you have the lubricant to move the vase off of Ed?"

She nodded and handed it to him, not taking her eyes off of Ed. Double D thanked her and started to move to Ed, guiding him away while unscrewing the bottle.

"But why did he think there was candy in it?" The hooded girl looked at her friends with an incredulous expression but was only met by shrugs.

"It's Ed, you get used to it after a while." Eddy waved it off, much to her annoyance. "Besides, you never said your names. I think Pinks here is Maddie or something, but I don't know a thing about the rest of you guys."

"He's got a point." Raven shrugged, extending her hand. "I'm Raven, and yes, the girl who launched herself across the hall was Maddie. Nice to meet you and your friends, nice to know we aren't the only ones with weird friends."

"Good to meet'cha." Eddy felt himself ease a little. She seemed a little bit more normal in comparison to Princess over ther. Maddie seemed to friendly too, though she didn't seem to be paying attention as Apple was bandaging her once again. "Anything to add, Red?"

"Is that the best you could come up with?" Red raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. The snicker from Eddy brought the eyebrow down to a glare. "It's Cerise. So you're going to school here?"

"Yeah. One of my friends is going here too."

"…Which one?" She looked behind him to see Double D slowly trying to pull off the vase from Ed's head. It was a slow process, but it looked like it was going moderately well.

"Relax, it's the one with the hat. Why?"

"Just trying to understand what to expect." Cerise shrugged. "We don't actually need any help here, but thanks for at least coming to ask, I guess. Hope this doesn't exactly turn you away from here."

"Not really," Eddy smirked a slight bit. "Nice to know I'm not going to be the only one getting in trouble for blowing stuff up."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven raised an eyebrow jokingly, but cautiously at Eddy. He just laughed and turned toward Apple.

"So, is there anything else to this tour, or should me and my friends go. We gotta get Ed to the other school and I think we're reaching our time limit."

"Oh, um, I think I did show you most of what the school had to offer. Maybe I could show you more tomorrow? I have some student council duties to start within the hour."

"Then we'll probably have to go. Hey, Pinks." He waved in front of the girls face who focused on him. "Hope you get your hearing back soon. Happens to me a lot. Should be permanent by now, but still."

"Thanks! Hope to get to know you guys more later in the story!" She started to skip away, a trail of bandages following her. Raven frantically moved after her, trying to prevent her from tripping.

Eddy, thoroughly confused, just decides to nod. He turned to the other two. "Yeah, what she said. Later Red, Princess."

Walking away to his friends, he looked to see Double D finally getting the vase off of Ed's head. With a loud pop, Ed's face was finally free of its prison, due to the mix of lubricant and sweat dripping off Ed's face.

"Finally! Thank goodness!" Double D lifted the vase above his head in triumph.

"I live!" Ed lifted his hands above himself as well, beaming ear to ear.

"Glad to know that's over." Eddy deadpanned, fighting a smile at the sight of his dumb friends. "By the way, what time is it Sockhead?"

"Oh right, it should be…" He looked at the nearest clock. "Dear lord, we're going to be late for the next tour!"

"Yeah, already cleared it out with Princess over there. We'll ask her more stuff tomorrow." As Eddy talked, Double D and Ed scrambled to get off the floor. They were already heading down the hallway at the end of his sentence.

"Hey, don't leave me behind you idiots!" He started to run after them. Thankfully, it was easy to catch up, but he couldn't help but notice two other people in the hallway.

It was Raven and Maddie, as she was wrapping up the bandages. He could tell it was frustrating Raven, as the loose ends kept falling off. She huffed, tapping her foot on the ground before just simply rolling her eyes. He could see her snap her fingers.

He blinked and the bandages were on Maddie, tight as if done professionally.

"What…" Eddy paused for a second, blinking away at the sight. Before he could properly think through what he just saw, he was pulled from his position by Double D, continuing their little adventure.

* * *

"You sure this tour is good?" Clawdeen was looking over her iCoffin, looking at the plans with a critical eye. "I mean, I practically trust anything you make to work, but this isn't the most exciting plan."

"_Bloodgood did say to introduce them to things slowly. It sounds like they didn't grow up with other monsters."_ Ghoulia was going through her book again, which Clawdeen figured out was a quantum physics book. She was looking over a particularly fascinating chapter, due to how much slower she was taking the information in.

"True. That's gotta be weird. Hope they don't have a panic attack. I mean, little Howlthorne has those sometimes, and I can deal with those, but at least he's family. Not sure what to do when it happens to strangers."

Ghoulia took a look towards her. _"It'll be fine. Bloodgood wouldn't pick anybody that unprepared. Or xenophobic for that matter."_ Another page turned. _"Also, you'll be fine. You've dealt with rowdy boys before."_

"You talkin' about my brothers or anyone tryin' to ask me out?" The joke came out easily, a fanged smile coming easily. She then sighed. "Too bad I'll have to switch to human form, though. I like to have my ears ready at all times."

"_You're hearing is the same as it is when your real ears are in the open, though."_

"Still uncomfortable." She scratched behind one of them, ignoring the twitching. "Besides, how much trouble could three guys be, especially enough to get into human form?"

Her answer came in the sound of a large crash from across campus, along with a ton of cursing in the general direction. She couldn't necessarily _see_ who caused said crash from her position, but her instincts told her it might be related to her "assignment."

"Well, that's probably my cue. Thanks for the help, Ghoulia, wish me luck." She sighed, walking away while thinking of her transformation on the way. "Sounds like I'll need it."

* * *

The Ed's thankfully did make it to the school on time, though almost as explosively as they did when they arrived at the first one.

"We probably should have left the vase back at the other school. Think they'll miss it?" Eddy laughed as Double D frantically tried picking up the pieces of porcelain lying on the floor.

"Oh dear, oh dear, not even one day in and we already stole _and _broke a vase. How is it possible for us to mess up this badly? Maybe curses are real, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…"

"Come on, Double D, cheer up! I'm sure we can fix it. I mean, we got the van on the road, so this'll be easy." Ed looked around at the scenery, smiling. "Gotta admit, this place is cool too. Especially with all the fog."

"Yeah." Eddy started to check out the place too. New Salem was a hell of a sight compared to Bookend, especially up close. The buildings he could see were gothic, black, and seemingly straight out of a classic horror novel, with the fog only adding to the ambiance. "How did we get here so fast, anyway?"

"Plot convenience." Ed said simply, ignoring the looks he got from his friends. "Pretty nice place. Where's the school though?"

"Not far from here, actually. Can't blame ya' for not seein' it, the fogs been pretty thick lately." A new voice seemed to spring from the ether, causing the boys to jump. Thankfully, the fog seemed to part for her just a little.

Thankfully, at least to Eddy, she looked a fair bit more normal. At least she wasn't wearing a ball gown, instead wearing a more normal skirt and jacket combo. However, they could have swore her eyes were glowing a second ago, though it could be just because they were unusually yellow.

"As much as I like the mysterious stranger thing you got going on, and trust me, I do, I'm guessing you're the tour guide here." Eddy, as usual, took the lead on this one.

"Pretty much. Your friend okay?" She looked over at the other two boys. Double D seemed almost done picking up the shattered remains of the vase (and his life) and Ed was happily still looking around.

"Yeah, this is normal. You'll get used to it quickly."

"At least this time there isn't any confused screaming involved, like any other accident involving us." Double D finally joined the conversation, the shattered remains of the vase now in a plastic baggie.

"…Yeah, gonna pretend I didn't hear that last part." The girl smiled nervously, keeping track of the three guys carefully. "I'm Clawdeen. I was picked to help bring you around the school and show you around, though I thought only two people were going here."

"Oh, that's me." Ed waved excitedly while Double D also raised his. "Me and Double D will be going here. New Salem seems cool, and I haven't even seen most of it."

"Good to hear." He seemed friendly at least, Clawdeen thought to herself. Double D also seemed polite, but she hadn't really gotten that much information out of him yet. The weird short kid tagging along, though, she couldn't help but get a really familiar vibe off of him. "So, what brought you around here, then?"

"Bookend is too colorful. I could feel my eyes begin to bleed from all the saturation." Eddy looked around. "Besides, staying in a dorm would be too boring." That, and it he could have swore he saw something back there, but he wasn't going to bring it up with her.

"That's fair." She turned to the rest of the guys in attendance, relaxing a smidge. "Well, if it works with you guys, I'd say we should start going. This might be the preparation period, but some of the buildings still close at certain times."

She turned around and started heading into the fog. The boys followed cautiously behind her, squinting and looking around for the aforementioned building.

"How are we close? I can't see a goddam thing." Eddy tried to wave the fog away futilely. "I mean, I can't imagine it's more noticeable than that other school."

"You do realize you're setting us up for another dramatic reveal, right?" Double D deadpanned simply following behind their guide. He could have swore he heard her snort. She couldn't hear them, right?

"Yeah, probably, but fog can't be this frickin' thick. I mean, seriously, how humid does this place get?"

"Don't worry guys, it's gonna' show up for us any second now!" Ed said, kicking some rocks around with a relaxed smile.

"Yeah? What makes you say that, Lumpy?"

"Easy!" He stopped, raising his hand with three fingers up, he started to count down. "It'll happen in about three, two, one." He then snapped his fingers, smiling wider.

Double D raised an eyebrow, slightly amused. "Ed, it really can't be that simple. I mean…" He stopped as he looked back in front of him, face frozen. After the moment of shock, he couldn't help but sigh and pinch the bridge of his nose. "You have to be kidding me."

The Ed's followed his gaze, realizing several startling facts. One, the fog was _gone_. It had seemingly cleared up in seconds, leaving the area completely visible. Two, the lighting of the area had, while still decently dark, become brighter to leave in an eerie glow. Three…

Well, the school was another _fricking castle._

While somehow just as grand as the first, the style was wildly different. With the first being a grand spectacle consisting of white walls and towers that reach the clouds, this one was covered with dark stones that look rooted to the ground. The windows looked dark, lights struggling to reach outside of it, the shadows moving behind not making any clear shapes.

"…Cheery." Eddy said, eyebrows raised. He started walking behind their guide, resigning himself to the weird scenery.

"Cool." Ed smiled, skipping right after his friend. He looked like a kid in a candy store, smile reaching across his face.

"Wait, stop the alliteration!" Double D followed close behind, flailing his arms. "Why is there a _second_ castle?! Why is it located so close to the first one?! WHO BUILT THEM?! Don't either of you have any questions?!"

"This place is weird, Sockhead. Roll with it." Eddy said, shrugging lazily. He didn't even bother looking back, arms moving behind his head.

Double D sputtered, trying to come up with a comeback. When the perfect one didn't fall into his lap, he just facepalmed. The sigh was imperceptible.

"Come on."

* * *

Headmistress Bloodgood sighed as she looked towards the courtyard, the sunlight barely breaching in through the window. She scratched at her neck, the enchanted threads literally keeping her head on her shoulders rubbing her skin. She remembered the when she didn't have to scratch her neck every few minutes, though the memory was dull by now.

She shook her head (not too hard, otherwise the threads would rip apart). No time for reminiscing now.

She had work to do.

"It looks like everything is going right." She watched as Clawdeen guided the boys to the doors of the school and smiled. She really did love her students, especially ones as creative as her. Bloodgood knew she would get far in life.

The boys seemed to be doing well too, the headmistress thought. They didn't seem to have caught on to things, though. That would surely cause some issues later.

She felt the pang of guilt. It was sharp and quick, creeping around in her gullet. She would have so much to explain as soon as they figured things out. Of course, she would do everything in her power to explain to them the importance of this, but that didn't guarantee they would understand it. Humans were very…

She bit back the thought as fast as it started. Doubts were like weeds, she thought. You had to be careful to prune them and treat them properly, otherwise they will rise again. Sometimes in greater numbers.

She knew that she made the right choice. They were capable kids. Smart kids.

Bloodgood sighed once again, the feeling of doubt still sprouting within her.

"Giles, I really hope this plan of yours works." She muttered, watching the boys disappear into the school. "For both our sakes."

* * *

The school was somehow even more intimidating on the inside, if it made any sense. Despite the normal sounding names of the classrooms, the place was somehow borderline the set of a horror movie. The Eds could appreciate the Halloween theme as much as the next person, but the cobwebs on the walls seemed to have actual spiders on them.

Ed thought it was cool though, despite his friends thinking it absolutely insane.

"I swear that spider just moved, Sockhead. It was looking me in the eye and everything. I think it wants to eat me."

"No Eddy, it wasn't looking at you." Double D looked straight ahead, trying to ignore the accusations from his friend. He mentally mapped the corridors of the school, making sure to note everything of importance.

That and he was keeping a close eye on Ed to keep him from getting his hand stuck in another vase.

"Yeah, don't worry about the spiders. They've been fed… I think." Clawdeen snickered as she heard the groan from Eddy. "Kidding. But seriously, they're tame spiders."

"Yeah, it's fine guys. They're kinda cute!" Ed went up to one of the cobwebs, looking closely at one of the spiders with big smile. Against all common sense, he started to pet one of them with one of his fingers.

"Ed, don't pet the spiders. We don't know if they're poisonous." Double D passed Ed and dragged him away from the spiderweb casually. "Speaking of which, Claudine?"

Clawdeen slowed down, turning her head casually to him. "Yeah, any problems?"

"Well, no." Double D said, moving up to walk beside her. He pointed at the webs. "I'm simply wondering why exactly spiders are crawling about the halls. A fascinating species you have here, but I'm sure somebody would have complained by now."

As he said this, he looked over at a spiderweb, watching one of them. He didn't actually recognize the species, which was a little odd. He was sure he'd studied many kinds of arachnids in his youth, but these were… _different_ somehow.

"Trust me, I'm not big on these either." Clawdeen shrugged. "Unfortunately, a student here didn't like how we kept them in cases or killed them when they got out, so the school lets them out for some free time." She narrowed her eyes as she passed one going between the two.

"…Alright, that's somehow not the weirdest thing I've heard today." Double D chuckled wearily.

Clawdeen raised an eyebrow at that. "Probably not going to be the strangest thing you see today either." Her lips quirked into a smile. "Hope you're up for a particular brand of crazy."

Double D laughed, looking at her with a small smile of his own. "I've known the two people behind me since I was six-years-old. After one of them asked me to pay them to watch the other eat a television." His smile widened. "I think we'll do just fine."

The disguised monster blinked at that statement, looking behind them for a brief second. Before the boy next to her could begin to worry that he weirded her out, she snorted and started to laugh. Double D relaxed, glad to have made a first impression.

"Okay, if you actually stay here, you're gonna have to tell me _that _story at some point." Clawdeen herself couldn't help but relax herself. The guys didn't seem like they were up to taking down their disguises, but it looked like they were going to fit in anyway.

"Put the spider down, Lumpy, we aren't taking you to the hospital to get the venom out!"

"Oh, come on, Eddy. It's cuddly! Pet it!"

"Hell no! get that thing away from me!"

…They'd fit in just fine.

"So," Double D drawled out. "Anything other then rampant spiders we should look out for? Bigger, more intimidating, with an abundance of testosterone perhaps?"

"Oh, we have a small infestation of those." Clawdeen rolled her eyes. "Manny. Tall, blond, plays basketball. Not the brightest bulb." She looked her new friend over. "Hates the color red, so if you plan on wearing that outfit often, you'll have to learn to run fast."

"Noted." He needed some more exercise, he supposed. "Any little followers to keep track of?"

"Not really. You'll get the occasional jerk, but Manny's the one to watch out for. When my brother gets here, might be good to stick with him and you guys won't get bothered as much." She frowned then. "Well, except if some of the Vamps from that prep school start getting hectic."

Double D raised an eyebrow. "Vamps?"

"Long story." She sighed, not meeting his eye. "Either way, you guys should be fine as long as you don't directly decide to make the next person you see your enemy."

"I certainly hope it doesn't come to that." Despite laughing after saying this, he couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. He looked briefly behind him, watching as Eddy furiously attempted to keep the spider that was being shoved into his face by Ed.

"Too bad that's our specialty." He mumbled, already planning ahead for what he was going to assume to be the next catastrophe.

* * *

"Oh, my, Ra, how does Bloodgood expect me to clean all of this up?!"

Ghoulia sighed, pressing the button on the stopwatch. Twenty seconds, she noted. She hummed thoughtfully as she noted that Cleo had almost reached her record when it came to time between complaints about manual labor.

"Seriously, how did that little chihuahua get the job of taking a few stooges around, but I get stuck with cleaning up this?!" Cleo waved the mess behind her, which despite working at it for a good while, had nary a dent.

"_Maybe you shouldn't have put the rats inside of her locker."_ Ghoulia said, typing away at her computer.

"Maybe she shouldn't have filled my locker with clothes from the boys locker room _after casketball practice_." Cleo ineffectually kicked at a stray pair of shorts, looking at them suspiciously.

"_Yes, that was a little cruel. Pulling out a cursed artifact and trying to use it against her was taking it a step too far. Speaking of which…"_ Ghoulia opened her bag, making sure the box with the magic seal was still holding out. Bright red lights were still coming out of the gaps in short bursts. _"It's still going off, by the way. Where did you get this particular artifact, by the way?"_

"It's something my father traded with some undead Mayans a while back. I took it from his personal collection." Cleo attempted to sweep the area once again, pushing back the mess slowly. "Besides, it's not _I_ was the one to start this whole thing. She should the one in trouble here."

At this, Ghoulia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. She gave a sarcastic look to her friend, watching as she kept on cleaning the area. Cleo groaned at Ghoulia's silence.

"I didn't! I'm not the one with a problem here, she's the one that went all feral after I started dating Deuce."

"_I will admit her reaction to it was a little extreme."_ Ghoulia admitted, looking away. However, she steeled herself and continued. _"You two did start dating not long __**after**__ you broke up with her brother."_

"_He_ didn't have a problem with it though!" Cleo threw the broom down, stomping her feet. She started to pace she began to rant. "So, what, is it her duty to defend the honor of her brother? No! Is it her job to but into my business? No!"

And, she was going off again. Third time since they started too. Ghoulia would complain, but it wasn't like she had a point.

But that didn't mean Clawdeen didn't have a point either.

"_Cleo. Focus on the mess."_ The warning came out easily has it had the third time once again.

"Ugh!" Cleo stomped one final time. "Focus or not, it's not like I'm going to finish this before closing time. At this rate, fearleading practice will be canceled tomorrow."

The zombie, despite herself, couldn't help but nod. The destruction had been fierce alone with the rats, dirty laundry, and cursed Egyptian artifacts. The modified bath bombs certainly didn't help things when Clawdeen pulled them out. A nice lavender smell was added to the mess, but it was a mess nonetheless.

"You know, if we got that little living vacuum cleaner from downstairs."

…Oh no.

Cleo smiled deviously.

She dozed off again, dammit, she dozed again.

"If you'll excuse me, old friend-"

"_Cleo, please don't do what I think you're doing-"_

"Oh, I am."

…Ghoulia wished she was faster sometimes. She honestly wished she did.

* * *

"You sure your friend is going to be alright back there?" Clawdeen watched as Ed let the spiders crawl all over him. She wasn't sure if she thought the fact he was laughing instead of screaming was cool or not, especially since Eddy looked positively terrified.

"Maybe." Double D's reply came out strangled, while his face was absolutely failing to pull off a calm façade. "None of them are poisonous? Not like I'm asking for a particular reason."

"No." The werewolf actually wasn't sure, but she figured it would make him feel better. She looked to Eddy. "You going to have a heart attack back there, dude?"

"Yeah, no, this is a completely regular thing that happens. Ed makes friends with weird stuff all the time." The short Ed sounded sarcastic, but it really was the truth. He just _really _didn't like this. At all.

"Yeah, come on Eddy, they don't bite." Ed moved towards his friend arms outstretched with spiders crawling down. Eddy moved bolted immediately behind Double D and Clawdeen.

"I'm good. Come on, let's get moving, plenty more of the school to see." He grabbed the two, dragging them further down the hall. Ed only shrugged, happily following them at a decent stroll. When the three in front were far enough ahead, Eddy started to whisper conspiratorially

"Alright Sockhead, we're shoving him into the shower before the day ends."

"Agreed."

Clawdeen nodded. "We have the gym coming up. You guys can corner him in the boy's locker room and shove him under one of the showers."

The two nodded. Ed, of course, didn't hear any of this, and just kept moving along. He kept looking around at the architecture, noting all the gargoyles lining the halls and arches for each class door.

"Hey, do you know who built this place?" Eddy asked, unprompted. "I mean, who just builds a castle out in the middle of the countryside? Looks old too."

"Yeah, place is older than dirt. Place is owned by a friend of mines dad. Built it sometime in the 1800's." She shrugged. "Not sure why he built a school _here_ per say, but it didn't exactly make the other one happy."

"Family feud?" Double D asked, having already procured a notepad from somewhere on his person.

"Kinda." Clawdeen frowned. "The two schools just didn't necessarily get along. Ideological differences. You'll learn about it sometime later probably."

"Hm. Great. Studying. Just what I wanted to do." Eddy grumbled, putting his hands behind his head. "You sure it isn't a class thing? I don't know why, but that place just felt like a private school with all the fancy stuff."

That earned a snicker. "Little bit of that too, but this isn't a public school either." She stopped, taking a second to read the sign. "We're at the gym. Any of ya' want to look inside?"

"Oh, me." Ed waved and dove through the doorway. The other Eds sighed, already getting ready to commit to the momentous task of pushing Ed to take a shower.

As the rest entered the gym, they couldn't help but take a look around either. Eddy couldn't help but give a low whistle at the large size.

"You guys do a lotta sports here?" Ed asked, noting the basketball hoops and volleyball nets. Ed may have been the comic book type of guy, but that didn't mean he didn't like to play a game or two when he was bored.

"Big on sports. Not a lot of 'jocks,' but pretty much everyone plays something if they can." Clawdeen subtly motioned to the other Eds where the locker rooms were. She noted their subtle nods as they inched to move Ed.

"Cool, cool. Anything in particular that you play?" The two Eds moved behind their friend, ready to tackle him. Ed didn't really notice as

"All sorts of things, but really I stick to fearlea-"

_***BOOM***_

The noise interrupted Clawdeen before she could finish, with her already whipping to face the locker room doors. She saw Cleo and Ghoulia in front of the doors leading to the girls side, pressing up against the door.

"…Hello, Clawdeen." Cleo nonchalantly locked the door behind her as she moved walked forwards, letting Ghoulia to droop against the door. "Didn't think I'd see you here."

"Yeah, well I expected you." The werewolf's personality shifted to a noticeable degree, at least to the Eds.

"Oh no." Double D slouched, feeling the tension.

"What?" Ed cluelessly looked towards his friends, not getting the hint as clearly.

Eddy, who was beginning to smile, replied in one word with a singsong voice. "It's _drama_."

Despite how low Eddy had said it, Clawdeen still spared a small glare at him before turning back to her 'friend.'

"So, I'm not gonna pretend that you got out of cleaning duty. Or even got started." Clawdeen slowly moved, as if to circle the girl in front of her. "Got tired of finally doing some hard work for once?"

"Oh, no, no," Cleo followed suit, moving in the same pattern as the werewolf. "I just found a way to work _smarter_. You know, instead of wasting away for hours on a…" She looked to the boys, narrowing her eyes. "… _mundane _endeavor."

"…Did that livin' Bratz doll call us 'mundane." Eddy said, eyes narrowing and smile thinning. Yeah, he wasn't going to like this one. Not one bit.

"I believe so." Double D moved his eyes between the scene and his friend, ready to stop him from intervening. "Better to just let it slide."

"Yeah," Ed responded. The response sounded muffled as he shoved a handful of popcorn into his mouth. The other two looked at him bewildered.

"…I don't even wanna ask where you got that." Eddy grabbed a handful himself, tossing one into his mouth. After checking for spiders of course.

The girls ignored the boys, still focused on each other. They were still circling one another carefully, neither one making a move towards each other.

Clawdeen smirked. "You got your servants to pick up the slack again? I thought Bloodgood decided to kick them out when you tried to get one to take a test for you."

"Nothing of the sort." Cleo brushed her hair behind her shoulder, arrogantly smirking back. "Just decided to call up a favor so I can get back to _important_ things. Spending hours in a locker room doing menial labor is no job for a queen."

Clawdeen rolled her eyes. "You mean you wanted to cheat out of a punishment. Classic rich girl." She tilted her head. "Never worked a day in her life and expects everyone to do as she says. Way to live up a stereotype."

"At least I don't have bags under my eyes. Really dear, would it kill you to just get some beauty sleep for once in your life?" Cleo faked a giggle, holding her hand in front of her mouth. "I mean, even if you were getting enough, I don't think it would be quite enough."

Clawdeen let out a guttural growl, stopping their little dance. She looked about ready to pounce on Cleo, eyes narrowing and teeth baring-

_**SNAP**_

The loud noise startled the occupants of the room, leading to notice that Ghoulia had finally made it over. She looked exasperated at her friends, giving the best glare she could.

They tensed.

They two parties looked at each other silently before Ghoulia dropped her arm, sighing. She then started to move her hands slowly, somewhat sarcastically, into using sign language.

"_Calm down. You do realize we have guests here, correct?"_ She pointed to Eds, who were still standing to the side awkwardly. Well, when they weren't munching on popcorn.

"And?" Cleo raised an eyebrow defiantly, but her bravado fell as the zombie turned her glare to her.

"_And, we need to behave. You two are not setting a good example for our school."_

"She's right, you know." Eddy interjected with a mouthful of popcorn. "I mean, I can't say it isn't funny, but can we just get on with it? Queenie's whining is starting to get on my nerves."

Clawdeen narrowed her eyes. "You know sign language?"

"Yeah. Long story. Have to be a level 5 friend in order to get that part of my tragic backstory." He sarcastically said, taking another bite out of the popcorn bag Ed had summoned. "Anyway, as I was saying…"

Cleo apparently decided to snap out of her stupor. "Excuse me?! Whining?!" She stomped over to Eddy, who already looked tired of whatever she was going to say next.

"Yeah, whining. And not a good listener, apparently." Eddy threw some popcorn in his mouth nonchalantly. He munched with a smug smile on his face as he saw Cleo fume.

"You really don't have any who I am, do you?" The mummy narrowed her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. "You would not be speaking to me this way if you knew who I was."

"I'm pretty sure I'm talking to an egotistic girl whose used to getting what she wants from 'daddy' or something." He looked to Clawdeen. "Am I in the ballpark here, or is there a slight chance that I'm wrong?"

"Nah, that's pretty accurate." The werewolf nodded appreciatively. Cleo briefly turned to her, but the mummy only received a mocking smile in return.

"Good, I've got plenty of experience with those. Right guys?" The smile he sent towards his friends was wide and mischievous but was only received by a sigh.

Double D, the origin of said sigh, only gave a small glare. "I thought we agreed that you would be on your best behavior, Eddy. No making enemies, remember?"

"I didn't make any enemies _at my school_. You never said anything about making ones outside of it." Another piece of popcorn was launched in his mouth, celebrating his work around. "Besides, I ain't goin' to school here."

"Aren't me and Double D going, though?" Ed questioned, who had been playing with the spiders still on his person the entire time.

"Exactly!" Double D exclaimed, glad that _someone_ was making sense. "Now can we please move on?! I'd like it if we could move forward so we can make enemies another day."

Ghoulia snapped her fingers to get the attention on her. She started signing once again. _"We should just let them go, Cleo. As I said before, they are new here. Of course they don't know who you are. Maybe just exercise some mercy and let them have a good start to the year?"_

"Thank you!" Eddy put his arms up into the air, causing some popcorn to spill on the ground. "Someone is taking initiative here. Popcorn?" He offered the bag to the zombie, though she politely declined, causing Eddy to shrug and continue eating it.

"Oh no, I'm going to make sure you know who you're messing with." Cleo huffed, moving closer to Eddy, attempting to tower over him. Eddy, unintimidated, looked up to her with an annoyed scowl.

Suddenly, a bang could be heard from the locker room that the two ghouls previously exited. However, the only ones to not notice was Eddy and Cleo.

"What was that?" Ed said curiously, looking towards the other two girls in the room.

"Not sure." Clawdeen replied, sending a curious look to Ghoulia, who positively looked a little scared by the sound. "Got any ideas?"

"_I have no idea what makes you think I know what's going on."_ The zombie signed quickly, trying to catch Cleo's attention. _"I think it might be time to leave now, we've got plenty of work to do."_

Unfortunately, the mummy hadn't been paying. "Let me spell it out for you, you dwarf. My father, and I by proxy, are from a long line of royalty, prestige, and wealth."

"Old money you never worked for." Eddy replied, not even remotely phased.

Another bang came out from the locker room door, though he paid it no mind as he watched Cleo implode.

"I have more control over this school and can make these _peasants_ do my bidding if I asked. I have their fear and respect." Cleo spat out, narrowing her eyes even more. If Eddy had listened a little better, he would have noticed a small echo in her voice.

"No real friends outside the girl behind me and controls everyone through blackmail." Eddy replied back, rolling eyes. "And _peasants_? Really? Pretty cliché there, Queenie."

Another bang echoed from the locker room. Double D couldn't help but finally voice his concern. "Is there some kind of wild animal in there? It sounds like it might get out of there any second."

"_It's like a wild animal." _Ghoulia was starting to panic. _"We should seriously consider moving on with the tour right now. Clawdeen, how far along were you on our plan?"_ Her attempt at a distraction failed however, as the werewolf seemed to be laughing too hard at watching the fight between the two.

"I have more power in this school then you hope to ever have in your measly existence! You have no clue the powers I have and how willing I am to use them." The echoes were getting a louder now, but again, Eddy, failed to notice.

"Bold words." He clapped with an appreciative smile but deadpanned a second later. "But again, don't care, doesn't matter if you can't back it up."

The next bang was accompanied by a screech of metal, causing the other occupants of the room to jump. They all looked at each other and moved backwards. Double D and Ghoulia tried to motion to their respective friends.

To no one's surprise, they failed to listen once more.

"Oh." Cleo was chillingly calm, the echo now out of her voice. She put on a plastic smile, eyes turning cold as she lifted her hand up slowly, looking ready to snap it. "Let me introduce to _The Help_ then."

However, before she could officially snap them, one final bang against the locker room door caused it to give way. The occupants of the gym jumped and turned towards the creature the stumbled out.

As silence enveloped the room, the people of the room observed the creature. To the Eds, the creature looked like something that would only come out of the edge of their nightmares, with a human like body with too-long legs and too-long arms. The arms ended in claws with curled nails, a face that seemed to split open. Eddy couldn't help but think of the monster from the first season of Stranger Things, which he had watched when he was pirating his neighbors Netflix account.

To the monsters in the room, it was called Fluffy.

The silence in the room would have continued if Ed, who didn't seem to be afraid of the creature, smiled.

"What _is_ that?! That looks so cool!" Ed said excitedly, causing the creature to look towards him. That seemed to break the spell over the teens.

"What in the world?!" Double D yelled, pulling Ed back. The beast started sniffing the air, moving in the general direction of the Eds. "What is that thing?! Why were you keeping it in there?!"

"Relax." Cleo tried to wave off the yelling, attempting nonchalance that was barely hiding her panic. "I have this completely under control." She turned to the beast and raised her hand in front of her, attempting to put on a regal air. "Fluffy, I command you to stop."

Fluffy appeared to be too preoccupied to listen. He kept sniffing the air slowly, making steps forward at a slow pace.

Cleo faltered, looking unsure. "Fluffy, I said I command you to stop." When it continued to not give a response. She started to get frustrated. "Stop I say!"

"You let Fluffy out?! God dang it Cleo, you know what happened last time. He got to the cafeteria and he made a mess everywhere!"

"Why the hell is it called Fluffy?" Eddy deadpanned, eyes zeroed in on said creature. He attempted to move to the side, but the creature sniffed once more. It stopped and looked to him and changed to where he currently stood.

Eddy's eyes widened. "Oh s***."

At the curse, the creature then growled and suddenly sped up to the short boys position, almost in a sprint. Eddy screamed, throwing the popcorn bag at it while sprinting away himself.

In a rare turnabout, the popcorn bag landed on the creatures head, slipping on without trouble. Fluffy stopped at the flood of butter, salt, and starch that assaulted its senses, sniffing madly. It waved it's head around as an attempt to rip it off.

"Oh for crying out loud." Clawdeen moved towards the creature, grabbing the bag off of its head. The popcorn spilled out unceremoniously, scattering across the floor. Fluffy, obviously unable to speak English, seemed to be grateful as he headbutted the werewolf gently before beginning to eat the food on the floor.

"Ok, now that this situation is over with," She said calmly, before turning to the other two monsters in the room. "What were two thinking?! I'm especially surprised at you, Ghoulia."

The zombie smiled nervously, not looking her in the eyes. _"In my defense, it wasn't exactly my idea. I was simply trying to help out Cleo with her punishment."_

"As much as I'd like to disagree, she's not wrong." Cleo checked her nails, back into diva mode. "As if I should be expected to do menial labor. Besides, I figured Headmistress Bloodgood wouldn't notice for at least an hour."

"Unfortunately, Miss De Nile, that is not the case."

The three couldn't help but jump, fear instantly infecting them. The headmistress herself casually walked into the open doors of the gym.

"Hey, Miss Bloodgood!" Clawdeen tried to hide the popcorn bag behind her. "Good to see you. Look, there's a good explanation for this-"

"Cleo took the Fluffy out so he could help eat the trash within the gym and you caught her in the act?" The administrator raised an eyebrow, making sure to send the stinkeye to the mentioned student.

"It's my fault that he can and will eat literally anything." She pointed to the creature as it attempted to eat the popcorn bag out of the werewolf's hands, who just simply sighed and handed it to him. Fluffy, again, hummed gratefully as he munched on the paper.

"_Believe it or not, he did do a good job. He only started to frenzy for some reason when Clawdeen's tour group showed up." _Ghoulia said, attempting to defend her friend somewhat. This caused everyone to pause. _"Oh, that reminds me, sorry about the schock you- where did they go?"_

An excellent question, as the spot where the three boys were standing minutes prior was now empty. The only sign they had been present was the spiderwebs left on the floor and the open door that led outside of the building.

"…_Oh dear."_

* * *

"What the hell was that?!"

"Eddy."

"Seriously, can someone explain why everything went full on Stranger Things back there?! Are we going to make friends with an 'Eleven' or something?!"

"Eddy."

"Are we going to have our mystery solving group form up and beat a government conspiracy?! I don't want to do a Scooby Doo thing- wait, we go the van, all we need is two girls and a dog-"

"Eddy!"

The kid in question stopped his rambling, noticing his friends shout. "What?! I can't be the only one questioning what we just say back there."

"You're not." Double D pinched the bridge of his nose and frowned. "Trust me. We just have to think about this logically. Ed!"

The tall Ed boy, who was picking the spider webs off of him finally, looked to his friend. "Yeah, Double D?"

"You've looked into practical effects before. You know, like the ones in your movies?" At the nod, the smart Ed boy continued. "Do you believe that it could have been something like that? It could have been completely possible that it was just a hazing ritual."

"Who does hazing like that?" Eddy questioned, looking at his friends. "Hazing is making someone eat ten pies at once or making them run through the forest naked, not making them think they're gonna have their face ripped off by a monster."

"It's just a suggestion!"

"He's kinda right Double D." Ed didn't seem as cheerful or as out of it, taking the situation seriously. "If it was effects, it wasn't anything I've ever seen before. It actually looked real."

"Preposterous!" Double D's voice was starting to become shrill and tone desperate. "This place could just have an excellent art program with a focus on film. Yes that has to be it." The smart one smiled shakily, seemingly trying to convince himself more then the others.

"What no, that's," Eddy paused, shaking his head. "If even Ed doesn't recognize how it works like that, then it probably not some freakin' trick!"

"You know what?" Ed raised his hands, looking between his two friends carefully. "Maybe we can just head to the other school. Cool off there. Wouldn't you like that, Double D?"

"Yes." Double D said it in a rush, already heading to the other school. He couldn't help but note that when they were running out of the Merston High that they must have run pretty far as they were already on the outskirts of Bookend. "I would like that very much."

Eddy sputtered before following, slowing to walk beside him. "Wait, wait, wait, I don't know if that's a good idea. I'm pretty sure there's something weird about that place too."

"Eddy, you're being ridiculous. I'm sure that Evelyn Aster High is a completely normal-"

Double D was then interrupted by a deep roar coming from the forest nearby. The Eds stopped, already on the defensive as they turned every which way to figure out where it was coming from.

The beast in question flew out of the forest seconds later, heading high into the air. What appeared to be a purple and blue dragon flew across the sky, moving gracefully in the air. It flew above the boys and headed off to the woods across the way, a roar reverberating in the air.

The Eds had stopped to watch it fly by, their eyes wide and remaining quiet. When the dragon was far off into the horizon, Double D fell to his knees and watched it go.

"That was a dragon." He said, a statement rather than a question. His green eyes were shrunk to pinpricks, mouth drawn into a line. "That was a _real_ dragon."

"Yep." Eddy said, just as shocked. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He felt numb by the revelation, unable to yell at the moment.

"Yeah." Ed, who should have been excited, didn't seem to know how to react. Awe, shock, and a little fear morphed his features constantly.

They remained in silence there, which allowed them to hear what sounded like the galloping of a horse within the distance. The three turned towards the sound numbly, watching as a woman atop a dark colored mare. If anyone of them could come up with a coherent thought right now, they would have thought it graceful, but somehow intimidating.

As Headmistress Bloodgood slowed to a stop in front of the three boys, she read their faces carefully and sighed. A more gentle introduction would have been better, but getting their true reactions to the situation was crucial to figuring out the next phase. At least they didn't appear to be lashing out.

She cleared her throat, looking at them all with a measured gaze.

"I suppose you three have some questions?"


	3. 3 Negotiations

The walk to the headmistress's office was quiet and it had remained long after they had arrived. The three boys watched Bloodgood carefully stack up some papers and sent the horse (which they learned was named Nightmare) away. Other then the strange looking animal, they couldn't necessarily find anything else strange about her with careful scrutiny.

Bloodgood knew they were watching her, but she decided to let them continue. Let them calm down and come up with their own conclusions, and then they could continue forward. At least, she would like to do that, but seeing as how the one wearing the hat seemed to still twitch every few seconds since they sat down, she might have to cut to the point.

"As you may have guessed," She said slowly, watching them straighten up. "This is not exactly the most normal of places. I do not doubt that you boys have some questions for me and I am absolutely free to answer whatever they may be."

"Where the hell are we?"

The question made the headmistress pause, looking over the short boy in the middle chair. Eddy (she believed his nickname was) seemed to have a suspicious look, tense and ready to run at a moments notice. He had his hand on Double D's shoulder as an attempt to soothe him- or was it to move him in case she turned out to be dangerous? She assumed the latter as he had a hand ready to grab Ed that was dangling limply off the armrest in said boys direction.

"You are within the city limits of New Salem and Bookend." She answered simply. She made sure to keep eye contact, watching as Eddy's eyes narrowed slightly.

"What- what my compatriot here means that," Double D started, flinching as Bloodgoods gaze switched to him. "What we're asking is _what_ exactly this location is."

The headmistress sighed. "Now that is a harder question to answer." She composed herself carefully, making sure all eyes were on her. When she determined they were, she continued. "A good many years ago, the people of the world were classified into three groups; Humans, Monsters, and Legends."

"Monsters?" Ed said in wonder, eyes widening. It looked like he had begun to relax, curiosity instead of trepidation entering his features. An encouraging look if Bloodgood could say so herself.

"Legends?" Eddy said carefully, looking to Double D in confusion. His suspicion remained, but he was still listening. Double D seemed to also share these feelings, watching the administrator with critical eyes.

"For many years, the three groups lived in a fragile harmony. While it couldn't be called exactly abject peace, it wasn't close to absolute war." A small smile fell onto her features. "Many of these groups used to intermingle, working together towards common goals. Legends focused on becoming the creators of tremendous stories, while Monsters would focus on great innovations that would move each group forward. As for humans, they made sure to record everything and become the first historians."

"I'm sensing a but." Eddy interjected, raising an eyebrow. She would have been irritated, but at least a joke meant he was calming down. She kept going.

"But," She sent a look their way to not interrupt again. "There came a time when all groups wanted more from each other. Legends wanted monsters to play their parts more. Monsters wanted humans to write them in a better light. And humans simply… well, just wanted more."

She waved vaguely all around here at the knickknacks on the walls, the haunted items she kept as a collection. Even the pencils on her desk that were virtually worthless compared to everything else.

"When the situation kept boiling over with actions of taking rather then giving, no one can really blame the ensuing conflict on any one side." She sighed, looking down to the floor. "However, in the end, there was only one true winner."

"Humans?" Double D asked, carefully, like he didn't want to set her off somehow. He received a small nod, with an expression that wasn't quite negative.

"Humans." She confirmed with finality. "Humans ended up outnumbering the powers of Monsters and Legends, attempting to take everything within their grasp. All magic, all of mad science, and anything that was in between. In the end, even when Legends and Monsters attempted to settle their differences in the name of a common enemy, they could not truly win."

Ed looked confused at the headmistress. "But you guys are still here. It looks like you won."

"No." Bloodgood sighed. "No, we did not." She got up and moved to one of her shelves. Grabbing a book, she carefully looked through it, holding onto the pages delicately, minding its age. When she found the right page, shoe moved it to face the boys.

From what the Ed's could see (after bunching up to get to it), they were looking at a picture of two people, standing across from each other. One looked was dressed in a fine gown, jewelry, and other fineries and standing with authority and grace. The other, dressed in dark robes, pale skin, and large teeth, stood imposingly, reeking of intimidation.

What stood between them was what could only be described as a large fire, with colors of varying shades. The colors were swirling together, turning into a fire twister that extended far above the edges of the page. Every time the Eds would blink, it would look like the colors changed, turning into new shades or just change colors all together.

"When the war between the three became too high a price to pay, the leaders of the Monsters and the Legends made a truce. When that truce turned out to not be enough, they went forward with a new plan." Bloodgood sat back down in her seat, folding her hands on the desk. "They made the humans forget them."

Like the book had been paying attention for its cue, the page began to turn on its own, revealing a new scene. The picture upon the next page showed the shifting rainbow flowing outward across the land, this time swirling into a hurricane. In the eye of the storm stood the two figures, back to back, while faceless beings scattered across appeared under the rainbow cloud.

"Stop."

Bloodgood, interrupted, looked at the person in question. It was, surprisingly, Double D who had stopped her. He was rubbing at his eyes, face scrunched up into what looked like a painful expression. A close look would have revealed that he was sweating. It appeared he was having migraine.

"As much as we appreciate the history lesson- at least, I appreciate it,- but that isn't answering the original question." Double D attempted to sit up straighter, but he was a little hunched over. It appeared the migraine weighed down on him physically. "But let me ask again; _where are we?_"

The headmistress appeared to be sympathetic. "Sorry. But the context is important." She opened a drawer in her desk, grabbing a bottle of aspirin. Handing some pills out to the boy, she smiled as he took them and swallowed them dry.

Usually Double D would have asked for some liquid to avoid the risk of dry swallowing, but he couldn't bother to even think about them.

"As I was saying," She continued softly, closing the book with a thump. "When the humans forgot about us, Monsters and Legends went into hiding to make sure it stayed that way. We hid cleverly in communities they never looked too closely, with magic they no longer knew. In some cases, we built communities of our own."

"And we're in one of them?!" Ed, who had been silent for what was probably the longest time in his life, finally spoke. It honestly appeared like Christmas, Halloween, and his birthday were all being done at once for him, ten times over.

Bloodgood could only chuckle. At least someone was enjoying this. "Well, it looks like you're all quick on the draw at the very least. Accepted it very easily."

"Unfortunately, we have to." Double D's voice was shrill. "Magic, dragons, and virtually everything else apparently exists. Saw it with my own two eyes." He took a shaky breath in. "This is fine. I am absolutely, completely _fine_ with this."

Bloodgood quirked and eyebrow and nervously looked to Eddy. "Will he be alright?"

"You just rocked his whole worldview, but he'll adapt." Eddy winced as he heard a sharp laugh from said friends direction. "Maybe." Moving the topic aside, he leaned forward, hands clapping in front of him. "So. Cool story. Nice to know humans are just as horrible as they've always been. But I think me and my friends made a wrong turn, we're supposed to attending a Merston and Evelyn Aster High right now-"

"Oh, no, you three were meant to come here." She leaned back in her chair, steepling her hands. "And it's Monster and Ever After High. Cover names for the schools, just in case anyone asks."

Eddy tensed. "Subtle. But, uh, what the heck does that _mean_?"

Bloodgood shrugged. "It means that you were brought here on purpose. No human would get here _accidentally_ dearie. It would be chaos otherwise."

"…We're going to be human sacrifices to keep this amnesia spell up, are we?"

The headmistress sputtered. "Wha- Of course not! Why do you-" She stopped, putting her hand to her temple. She took a breath. "Alright, that may have not been the way to phrase this. Let me try again."

Ed brightened up. "Please? I want to know more about this place. Are there any more dragons here? Oh, you wouldn't happen to have any zombies here too?" Before he could continue, the headmistress held up a hand, causing him to quiet.

"Yes, on both accounts." She sighed. "And when I say that I brought you three here on purpose, it was for a much more _humane _reason. No human sacrifices, that I can assure you."

Eddy was starting to get impatient. "Then say it."

Bloodgood rolled her eyes. "I want you three to attend the schools here."

There was a beat of silence. The three boys didn't seem to know how to respond, with Eddy looking baffled, while Ed didn't seem to register. However, Double D, coming out of his panic attack slowly let out an important, intelligent question.

"What?"

Okay, maybe not so intelligent, but still important.

"I said that I want you three to attend school here, at Monster and Ever After High." She leaned forward, folding her hands on her desk. Her attitude had shifted from lecturing to serious. No jokes as far as the boys could tell. "And not just for a lark, but for a purpose."

"A purpose?" Eddy's confusion was evident on his face. A subtle eye twitch and a quirked smile showed how he felt about this.

"Are we the chosen ones?" Ed asked in wonder, gasping as he put his hands on the side of his face.

"No, but you have the right attitude for it." Bloodgood shook her head, letting out another chuckle.

Double D sighed. "What would that purpose be exactly? I don't necessarily get why you would want us to attend your establishment, much less the other down the lane. I also don't understand why monster and fairy tale schools exist, mind you."

"Everyone needs a proper education, dear. Even us monsters." Despite the joke, the headmistress looked outside at the city forlornly, looking into the distance at the town of Bookend. "And it's simply to help further a goal of me and… a close friend. We wanted to try something that would help better the world."

The Eds were only getting more confused as they listened, but they had the sense to keep quiet. Even Eddy fought down a retort and allowed her to continue.

"There are two main problems in our small, secluded world, but big ones all the same." Her eyes flickered downward. "The first? Despite the treaty that was made to unite Monsters and Legends in the end of the war, the two races have never really learned to work together. Some attempts have been made, but tensions have never been higher. Despite having all of this time, relationships have just… stagnated."

She paused. "As for the second…" She attempted to continue, her face morphing into a grim expression. "We've been in the dark for quite a long time. And quite honestly? The population is starting to become too big to ignore."

She got up from her chair and moved to the window, looking out at the towns pensively. "Despite what many leaders on both sides think, we can't hide forever. At some point, someone is going to slip up or the humans will find something they weren't ready to know. We will have to reunite with humans someday. Even if it is slow." She sighed and turned back to the boys. "Which is why I brought you here."

Eddy narrowed his eyes. "Don't get me wrong," He said lowly, hands clasped together tightly. "It's nice to have ambitions, but how is us going to school here going to help that?"

"Because, believe it or not, you three have traits that are needed to pull this off." Opening another drawer, she picked out some files and opened them up. To the Eds horror, they couldn't help but notice their pictures on the top.

"Oh, permanent records!" Ed move forward, trying to read his. "What do you think these have guys?! You think they have that time we set fire to the cafeteria after trying to sub for the lunch lady? Or the time with the Kankers and that Zamboni we borrowed?"

"I'm more concerned as to why she has it." Double D said, though he was attempting the same thing. He really hoped that it didn't mention some of what Ed said earlier. _Especially _the Zamboni incident. "What exactly does it say, and what exactly were you looking for?"

"You can rest assured that most of what was said in here is positive." Bloodgood tried to assuage the smart Ed boy. "As for what I was looking for, I was looking for endless creativity, with an imagination to match." She pointed to Ed, who simply beamed in pride.

"An astute mind that knows exactly how to strategize and know exactly what to do next." Double D, while still trying to remain serious, fought back a smile of his own. He didn't exactly get complemented that much.

"And lastly," She turned her gaze to Eddy, who was still keeping a close eye on her. "Someone who knows how to manipulate and keep a lie together, even long after it should've died."

Eddy smirked, but his eyes were still narrowed. "That's cute, Hannibal, but I'm pretty sure you can find plenty of other kids that would be able to help pull this off. None of those things are unique to just us, you know."

"Statistically, Eddy isn't wrong." Double D straightened up, running some calculations. "Even if you applied the broad statement of us being 'one in a million," that would mean there are about 327 people in the United States alone that are like us."

"Maybe we're special." Ed said, trying to steer his friends to his side. "I mean, maybe because we're good friends it makes us easier to work together."

Bloodgood nodded but didn't seem particularly bothered by the concerns. "All of you are correct in bringing this up. While you three having a history does help you all cooperate, there ar probably other people more qualified. However, there was one factor when deciding that you three would be good candidates."

"Enlighten us then." Eddy threw his hands outward, sarcasm clear in his voice. Double D sent an elbow the ribs once again, causing him to double over and sent a glare to his friend as he did so.

At this, she hesitated. She looked down at the files on her desk and seemed to think her next statement over. When the pensive look on her face eased, it was replaced by a calculating one as she looked forward and asked them one question. "Where were you three staying about a month ago?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked," She said slowly, tongue clicking. "Where were you three staying about a month ago? What city were you in?"

The Eds couldn't help but remain quiet at this, their mood shifting. They couldn't help but look at each other, expressions turning neutral but strained. Ed's smile was plastic and unmoving as he squeaked out a response. "What do you mean?"

The headmistress's frown settled more on her face. "Not going to talk? Fair enough." She neatly stacked the folders, not making eye contact. "Let me enlighten you with another story, this time only from a month ago…"

* * *

Headmistress Bloodgood did her best to enjoy the sights of New Orleans, she really did. However, while passing through the lively streets and listening to music fall come out of the clubs despite being early in the afternoon, her mind remained occupied. The plan was failing through before it even began.

Just what the hell did Milton _do_? At first, things were going quite well if she could say so herself. The candidates were being reviewed, she had a few phone numbers she had been ready to call, but she had found the stack of papers in her office the next morning. Like someone had been trying to hide it frantically and return it to her.

She scowled. All the hard work that had been done so far was being put to waste, all because of Milton, something she knew she couldn't stand for. However, without the connections she had relied on, this made things so much more difficult. She could only do so much with her own resources before needing some outside help.

A particularly loud bout of music from a passing troupe made her jump out of her reverie. A lively city, she couldn't help but think. So many spirits here too, but they only came out at night. She really wished that she had picked somewhere quieter, but this was far enough away from the school and she figured she might as well visit some college friends while she was here. It was too bad she couldn't enjoy the atmosphere as much as everyone else was.

She sighed and steeled herself. Bloodgood would have to do something before meeting up with her friends later. She didn't need to be in a depressive mood for this.

"Maybe I'll go to one of those fortune tellers." She huffed good-naturedly. "Their predictions are always good for a laugh."

She'd made it a massive open space where many 'fortune' tellers, souvenir stations, and various other little stands scattered across. Maybe she could get a tarot card reading or see if one of those crystal ball ones were still around. A souvenir wouldn't be a bad idea either, but she didn't exactly have anyone that would appreciate it.

"Ladies, gentleman, and everyone in between, come and buy a good taste of good ol' Louisiana before you leave! We have a limited stock, so buy fast!"

"Eddy, please get off the table."

Bloodgood couldn't help but immediately straighten. Strange. Usually the voices trying to hook in customers weren't so… _young_.

She turned slowly towards the voices, narrowing her eyes. Admittedly, the sight of a small table carrying overpriced souvenirs wasn't unusual here. However, instead of an adult running the stand, three teenagers were running it, one of which was attempting to get another off of their table. Unsuccessfully, she might add.

"C'mon, Einstein, how else am I gonna' attract attention around here!" Eddy swept his hand over the courtyard, noting the stands around them. "We're floundering here."

"That doesn't mean you have to break the table. The last one we had was in two pieces thanks to your theatrics and it took us a week to find another one." 'Einstein' pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. "Ed, you wouldn't have happened to create a few more trinkets."

"Tons of them," Ed said, in the van parked not too far away. Wood shavings and paint were scattered around him as he slowly carved out another shape with precision. "Running out of wood, though. Gonna' have to restock at some point."

Bloodgood didn't necessarily mean to hear all that, it just sort of happened. Just how like she was apparently walking toward the stand without necessarily thinking about it. Looking over their wares, she noted several key shapes of the fleur-de-lys carved out of wood, several bead necklaces, and skulls made out of clay. There was even little keychains with those little stylized ghosts.

"I still don't believe we should be selling some of these." Double D picked up one of the clay skulls. "I highly doubt that anyone in Haiti would appreciate these attempts at appropriating their culture."

"We're literally just selling skulls, Double D. At least we're not selling it with skulls painted on our faces like the three white guys we passed on the way here." Eddy got off the table, moving to lean back in a chair near the stand. "Keep em' coming Ed! The keychains are a real hot item."

"Excuse me." Bloodgood interjected, getting the attention of the boys. "Is it alright if buy one of your keychains? I know a few friends of mine who'd find them adorable." She didn't necessarily _need _them, but she was compelled to buy them if only to get a better look. She didn't see any authority figures nearby, so these three were obviously alone.

"Three bucks. Seven if you decide to buy a skull with it." She just nodded and pulled out some cash, Eddy only sending a brief glance her way. "And Sockhead, what else do you think tourists buy here? It's certainly not the peaceful atmosphere that attracts them." Eddy pointed to a band playing outside a few blocks away.

"I suppose the subject matter involving Voodoo and haunted locations does draw in more then a _few _buyers." Double D sighed. "We are running a bit low on funds. We'll need some more money before we head out to the next town."

Bloodgood, attempting to stall by putting the keychain on, couldn't help but note that. She looked into the van where Ed worked, noting that she could see some blankets and pillows in the back seat.

Concerning. Very concerning.

"Hey!" She heard a voice shout, stopping the conversation dead and ruining her concentration. An officer down the sidewalk started to approach, waving down at them. "You boys have a business license to sell those?"

"S***." Eddy scooped up the merchandise, making sure to snatch the money first. Double D picked up the table and was muttering up a storm as hurriedly folded the legs. Ed had already moved up to the front seat, turning on the ignition. "Looks like we're headin' out early."

"Thanksforhthepurchasema'm!" Double D said in a flurry, moving the table to the back part of the van. Eddy followed and spilled some merchandise as he went, the van speeding off as soon he got in. As it moved into the distance and through the busy streets, she could have sworn it blasted 'La Cucaracha' as it disappeared.

Bloodgood didn't necessarily remember much else from the day except for the cursing of the officer and the cooing of her friends after she showed them her new souvenir.

* * *

"My friends loved the little ghost you made. Said it was absolutely adorable." She dangled said trinket in front of them, the keys jangling.

"Thank you." Ed smiled at the praise.

The other two Ed's couldn't help but blush at the reminder of their New Orleans escapade. They'd outrun the law, though it would be a little while before they could return there.

"I should have charged you double for all of that." Eddy ran a hand down his face. A chuckle from the administrator only earned a glare from him.

"I suppose that is a nice little story," Double D, recovering from his embarrassment, folded his hands in his lap. "But I fail to see what made you think that made us more qualified above all other applicants."

Bloodgood moved the keychain into a little bowl, face neutral. "The thing I saw that put you three at the top?" She made sure to look them each individually in the eye before she continued. "I saw that you three needed help the most."

Eddy sputtered, the statement seemingly slapping him in the face. "What are you talking about?! We were doing just fine! What gives you the right to but in?"

"Considering the facts I uncovered after seeing you three? Several." She opened up several files that contained their pictures. "You see, after I saw that you were _sleeping out of your van_, I obviously grew a bit concerned. While doing some research of my own, I uncovered three very interesting facts about you three."

She looked at Ed, surveying him carefully. He shrunk a little, his expression strained. "One; You three were not only not from New Orleans, but you were all obviously from out of state. While a road trip isn't unheard of, it is considered strange when you're alone and states away. Much farther than even more lackadaisical parents would allow."

She moved her gaze to Double D, who did his best to keep the stare, but wilted. "Two; You three have police reports that seem to point to some form of delinquency, but they usually consist of cons that aim to get a set amount of money." She narrowed her eyes, causing the smart Ed to shuffle in his seat. "Almost like you three were struggling financially."

"And lastly," She moved on to Eddy last, who was just glaring at her with a barely contained scowl. She saw his eye twitch as she spoke the final words. "You were all reported missing in your hometown."

She put her hands on to her desk and rose out of her seat, staring them down. "I've worked this job for a very long time, boys. Longer then you know." She put her hands behind her back, standing at full height. "I know runaways when I see them."

The Ed's couldn't find a comeback, despite their resolve. Ed looked outside the window without shifting too much, while Double D started rubbing his arm. Eddy seemed to be forcing a smile on his face, teeth grinding at the effort. He was squeezing the arm rests with a powerful grip.

Finally, after a moments respite, Eddy sighed and sank into the chair. He looked exhausted, not even bothering to hide his irritation at this point.

"Fine." He moved his arms up limply in a lame shrug. "You got us there. Not like we can deny it now."

Bloodgood's stern face softened, looking over the nervous state of the boys. "What I'm offering here is a stable environment. Food, housing, and a proper education that would be valid anywhere. Yes, there are some strings attached, but you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Double D still wasn't looking her in the eye, as his were still glued to the floor. "What happens if we say no then?"

"Your memories will be erased." The admittance to that shouldn't have been surprising, but it did make them jump. "I _will_ put you somewhere where you three can be worry free, but it'll be like this conversation never happened." She walked around the desk and leaned on it while facing them. "Either way, you'll be given a good home whether it's here with us or out there in the world. I think you three would like it here, however, which is why I wanted to get to you directly before making my choice."

The three boys sat and thought it over carefully. Money had been getting low, so having some free food and proper housing would be a plus. Double D appreciated the idea of actually continuing their education, especially if this place offered more due to magic and mad science. Ed would love to actually meet some more monsters here and the possibility for adventure was alluring.

Eddy however…

"I can't say that the offer isn't tempting," Eddy said carefully, gears turning in his head. There had to something else to sweeten the pot here. "But it sounds like we'd be fine either way. If you want to keep us here, you got to have something that any other place wouldn't have."

"Hm." The headmistress nodded, the noncommittal sound coming out of her mouth. "That's more than fair. No risk should come without reward. That's why we have a rewards program."

"Huh?" Eddy wasn't exactly ready for her to agree so readily. He blinked as she flicked over two brochures, this time containing the real information on both schools. At the front, he could see the 'generous scholarship program' tag at the top of each one.

"Ever After and Monster High provide scholarships to most students that attend." She explained, reminding Eddy of one of his own sales pitches. "For every student that does their share of the work and earn passing grades, they're awarded scholarships, with varying degrees of payment depending on their final grades. Even students that receive C's will barely have to pay for tuition.

"Of course, anyone with higher can expect to pay little to none." She saw the boys looking over the correct brochures this, carefully reading the same information she was saying herself. "If you three decide to apply yourself here, you three would never have to worry about student debt. Free education that will only make your lives richer."

Ed's eyes widened. "A head start."

"Exactly." Bloodgood watched as the boy carefully looked it over, reading the same passage several times over. He was calculating in his head the enormity of the offer. "Admittedly, while some human organizations do their best to provide these opportunities, it's instantly assured here. Ivy league colleges would be within your grasp with little effort."

Eddy licked his lips. The thought was tempting, though a little bit insane. That was… too good to be true. Double D getting to go to Harvard and having the world virtually at his fingertips, no strings attached? Ed being able to go to an art school that would work out for him, working on practical and special effects?

He stopped and looked up at her suspiciously. "And why should I believe that you're able to do something like that? I don't even think that would be possible, even if you had the right backers."

Bloodgood shrugged. "I know how it sounds. But I am telling the truth." She moved to Eddy slowly, arms at her said. Standing in front of him, she leaned down so their eyes were face to face.

"Besides," Eddy felt a chill as he noticed the woman, with her eyes almost trying to probe into his brain and read his thoughts. He, along with his friends, couldn't help but notice the stitching at her neck, wrapped deep within her skin. Eddy scratched his neck before continuing. "I think you would enjoy the idea the most."

The Ed's shifted in their seats. Ed smiled nervously, making sure to look between the two carefully. The lady was pretty nice to them before, but he couldn't help but not like the calculating look in her eye. She wasn't trying to be mean, but that still didn't mean it didn't scare him a little.

"Really," The faux confidence in Eddy remained fixed, but it he could feel it slipping. "What makes you think that? Maybe I don't want to go to college."

She raised an eyebrow, tilting her head silently. "You don't want to?" She questioned, tilting her head to the other said. "Or didn't believe you could afford to?"

The staring contest between the two kept going. Eddy shrunk back slowly as the seconds went on, but Bloodgood stayed stock still. In the back, Double D couldn't help but realize that she wasn't breathing. Sure, the occasional sigh could be heard, but he wasn't seeing her breathe _in._ They'd forgotten that she wasn't exactly human, didn't they?

Eddy finally sighed, breaking the look between him and Bloodgood. She moved back up quickly into a standing position, head still tilted to the side questioningly.

"_If_," Eddy said haltingly, making sure to look to his friends. Receiving nods from them, he continued. "_If_ we decide to do this, what exactly are the rules? Other than basic school rules, of course."

Bloodgood finally smiled, life returning to her face once again. "A few simple ones really. I expect you three to act with the utmost secrecy about this, for one."

"Duh," Eddy rolled his eyes.

"I mean it." Her voice turned deadly serious. "The policy of both towns states that any humans caught within the borders will have their minds erased of what they witnessed, but that only applies to the authorities and the faculty. Anyone else, student or otherwise, might go with something more extreme depending on their background with humans."

The Ed's winced at that. Right, the war. Needed to remember that.

"Secondly, I want you three to make an effort within your classes. While yes, passing only requires a C average, I do expect my students to actually try and excel no matter what. If you have any issues involving any subjects, tutoring is available across campus and other resources to increase your grades."

Double D couldn't help but feel his eyes twitch. Guess he was going to be tutoring Ed and Eddy for sure this year.

"Also, and this is somewhat optional," She took a brief glance to outside, making a note of the setting sun silhouetting Ever After High in the distance. "I would suggest attempting to make friends in _both _schools. I want to see some growth in how both communities interact."

Ed smiled widely, eyes glittering in excitement. He was going to make so many _friends!_

Eddy raised an eyebrow. "Is that all? Doesn't sound too difficult."

"Yes, infiltrating two societies sounds like a piece of cake." Double D deadpanned. This earned him glare from Eddy, which he shrugged at indifferently.

"Of course, I expect you all on your best behavior." Bloodgood sat back into her seat. "I do expect some chaos during the 'adjustment' period, but I do expect you to play by any rules every other school should have. Avoid fights, don't talk back to your teachers unless they deserve it, you know the rest." She waved her hand flippantly at the list.

"Sounds awesome!" Ed stood up abruptly, cheering. However, a thought crossed his mind. "Uh, wouldn't it be harder for Double D? I mean, he is attending both schools, so, he's gonna' have to work extra hard."

"Ed's… right?" The smart Ed boy looked incredulous but decided to shake it off for later. "Though, I guess I do have a friend in each school to help, but that does imply some extra work ahead."

"I will make sure to help you on that matter. You are not the first student that attended both schools before. I attended both of them myself at one point." Bloodgood was already putting the files away as she said this, rifling through her drawer.

Eddy stood up himself, clapping his hands together. "Then I guess we have a deal. Thank you for this… _enlightening_ conversation, but it looks like we got to prepare." Double D looked like he was going to raise some protests, but Eddy ignored it as he started heading for the door. Opening it, he took one final pause. Turning his head to look at her, he asked one final thing.

"Since we've talking about monsters and all, I've been meaning to ask you something; What exactly are _you?_"

Bloodgood only smiled politely, pristinely. "Why, can't you tell,"

She move her hands and rested her hands at the side of her head, smile widening. She slowly moved her hands up, seemingly dragging her head with it. Stiches unraveling, her head slowly disconnected from her neck.

"I'm the _Headless Horsewoman_."

Bloodgood would never admit it, but she laughed later at how fast the three ran out of the room.

* * *

"Okay, Eddy?" Double D breathed heavily, noting the distance they put between themselves and headmistress's office, noting they were several hallways away. Something told him he'd have to get used to sights like that. "As much as I appreciate the opportunity, _what were you __**thinking?!"**_

Double D started pacing, hands frantically moving and voice pitched high. "Seriously?! How exactly are we going to do this?! I mean, yes, we've done plenty of scams at this point, but this is outright fraud!"

"Double D." Eddy carefully said, putting his hands in front of him. It was futile, though.

"You heard the headmistress, if we're caught, the best-case scenario is losing our memories. We don't even _know_ the worst case one, but she made some heavy indications to what it was."

"Uh, Double D." Ed attempted to interrupt his friend as well, but it had the opposite effect as their hatted friend only got more frantic.

"And we _definitely _did not have an excellent start. I mean, the Ever After students didn't exactly seem to realize anything, but the ones here saw us freak out at the sight of their pet. How in the world are we going to explain our reactions to them?!"

The other two Ed's looked at each other, deadpanning. Eddy sighed as Ed gave a rueful chuckle. Old fashioned way it is.

"Not to mention that-" Double had no time to continue as Eddy then slapped him, with another quick one from Ed to follow. Stunning him, he spun in place before stopping to take a deep breath.

"-I really hate it when you do that." He sighed deeply. He instinctually straightened out his tie, looking at his friends with a stern look. "As much I needed that, it doesn't mean I don't have point. What we're attempting here is something more complicated than any scheme we've done in the past."

Eddy nodded, surprisingly taking the situation just as seriously. "You don't think I know that? I wouldn't do this if I didn't think it was worth it, Sockhead." He moved to his friends' side, grabbing him close by the waist. He extended a hand, flourishing to highlight the dark walls of Monster High. "We do this, we can not only get into college _for free_, we also have access to tech you could only dream of."

Zipping over to head, he jumped to grab his friends head, looking him into his eyes. "And magic, dude. Magic! Can you imagine what kind of stuff we could do with that?! Free college is just the icing on top of all of it."

"Yeah, Double D!" Ed looked excited himself. "Magic is freaking awesome! You might not like it, but maybe you could study it?"

Double D felt a part of his analytical mind flair at that. It would be interesting to find out if there was an exact science to it, he supposed. There was also the matter of how people like Bloodgood could survive after death, especially without a working cardiovascular system and decayed lungs…

"I suppose," He said slowly. "But if we try to do a scam of this magnitude, it would require quite a bit of planning. More then anything we've done before."

Eddy clapped his friend on the back, already heading down the hallway. "Just leave it to me, guys. I already have a few ideas that we'll smooth over later tonight in the dorms."

"Alright, Eddy's the man with he plan." Ed followed soon after, already spouting off a list of ideas as to what they could do. Some inane, some impossible, but Eddy still listened for the occasional gem. Double D sighed, running to catch up with them.

"Guys, wait! You don't even know where the dorms are!"

It was going to be a long school year.

* * *

**Well, what do you know, I'm actually updating this regularly. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Thus ends what could be called the prologue and thus begins what I affectionately call 'The Preparation Arc.' Now, the real story begins and eventually conflicts will begin to surface as the Ed's move forward in their scheme to fool two societies into thinking they're something or not. I'll see you all later on the next chapter!**


	4. 4 Research

**Wow, I'm on a roll here. First chapter of the Prep. Arc in over a week, I think this might go all the way if I can keep up the streak. Either way, I hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

**Also, if anyone reading this also likes Danny Phantom, Homestuck, both, or neither, feel free to check on my other story Mutated Ectoplasm. If not, that's fine by me. I'll see you in the next chapter anyway.**

* * *

There were several facets to the plan that Eddy knew that were necessary. Some he recommended, some that he made a top priority. In all accounts, this was a necessary step that couldn't be avoided.

Standing in Ever After High's library and surrounded by books, he couldn't help but already dread the amount of research he was about to do.

Sighing, he attempted to steel himself by counting the steps he took as he walked inside, counting the shelves to find the right section. The history books had to be somewhere right? Maybe he should have listened to Double D about that Dewey Decimal stuff.

He huffed. This was for the plan. He came up with it, he'd have to roll with it.

Continuing to count the steps, he couldn't help but go over last night's conversation.

* * *

"Okay," Double D had a check list written out before them. It didn't necessarily take long to determine what they should do, but it was difficult to determine what order they do things. However, the list broke it all down it its simplest parts.

**1.** **Learn about basic history as to not appear suspicious to teachers and other students.**

**2.** **Learn about the culture within both schools and attempt to acclimate so as to not draw unwanted attention. Secondary: Become popular within the community to better cement facade.**

**3.** **Gain connections within the community that will reap benefits later. DO NOT make friendships based solely on it.**

**4.** **Get jobs/start business to gain extra revenue. Necessities plus phones/tablets/computers already provided by the schools.**

**5.** **Change of clothes (?). Might be beneficial for blending in into the future.**

There were other, smaller items to the list, but the first five were the top priorities. They were aiming to have most of these finished by the end of the month before school officially started, but that would be determined by whatever came next.

"Do we all agree that we need to take these steps soon? I believe this is an acceptable plan of action for now." Double D capped the pen and put it aside, looking over the list again. "The only thing I don't really agree with as a priority is getting new clothing. Isn't that a little bit wasteful?"

"Pah," Eddy waved off his friend's concern. "In order to blend in, we gotta' get used to the local style, Sockhead. Means we gotta' get some new duds."

Ed looked up finally from the iCoffin he was supplied with by the school. "Yeah! Besides, we haven't got any new clothes in a long time. I'd kinda like something new." He tugged at a loose end of his shirt, noting that it was only one of many.

Double D frowned, but only nodded as he knew the clothes, they had packed were not exactly the most well-kept. However, he couldn't let it rest. "Still, I feel like that shouldn't be something to worry about just yet."

Eddy, rolling his eyes, moved up from his position on the bed and grabbed the list. He laughed mischievously. "Dude, relax. It's not like I'm asking for us to get some designer crud." He threw the list behind him, snickering as his hatted friend dove for it. "We just need to make sure to not have the human smell on us when school starts picking up. Brand new start, right?"

"Right!" Ed stood up, finger pointing into the nothingness above him as he struck a heroic pose. "We need to be new people! No human traits whatsoever! It'll be like we never even WERE human."

Eddy pointed at Ed, smiling at his annoyed friend. "See, he gets it."

Double D sighed, shaking his head. Smoothing out the paper, he sent The Look to them. "I suppose you aren't wrong. Anyway, we should begin to talk about how we are going to conduct our research."

The other two boys groaned instantly, face planting into the pillows on the bed. They were _not_ looking forward to this.

"Oh, come on now!" The hatted boy threw his hands into the air. "This is necessary and you both agreed to it. Don't tell me you changed your minds."

"No, Double D." Ed pouted, turning over.

"Just sucks that we have to pretty much do homework while on vacation." Eddy flipped onto his back as well. "Least it's for a good cause."

"Exactly." The list was put down on the desk again. Tapping the pencil against his lips, Double D smiled. "Though, there is a certain amount you'll have to do yourself, Eddy."

Another groan was his answer to that statement.

* * *

Eddy made a note that next time he decided to infiltrate a secret society that he wouldn't have to do research next time. At the very least, he'd find one that had some informative pamphlets.

Noticing the change in titles on the books before him, he slowed. Even though he didn't trust his knowledge of the Dewey Decimal system, he at least knew that he must be getting close to the history section if some of the titles were enough to go by.

_Wacky Wars of Wonderland, The Lineage of the Charming Family, The War on Humanity..._

The boy felt his eye twitch. Double D had given him a laundry list of topics that he thought would be good to cover, but that didn't mean he liked the idea of doing this. He didn't know how much he could check out, either.

He sighed, scratching the back of his neck. Maybe if he looked at the higher shelves, he'd find something that would provide general information on everything he was looking for? Yeah, that makes sense.

He looked around, but couldn't see a ladder anywhere, only stools. Hm. That would certainly make things difficult.

An idea struck him instantly, causing his frown to quickly turn over. _Or,_ it would make things so much easier.

He grabbed a couple of the stools and stacked them together quickly. Smiling at the unstable tower he created for himself, Eddy climbed carefully, taking shaky steps upward. Not the safest way to do this, something he knew Double D would kill him for doing, but whatever. This was how _he_ did his research.

The higher shelves didn't seem to have much better, he was quickly beginning to realize. In fact, now that he was looking at them more closely, he could barely understand the titles anymore. Maybe if he just moved a little higher...

"Um, excuse me?"

At the introduction of the new voice, Eddy, jumped causing the tower of stools to tilt over. The boy attempted, and failed, to grab at the shelves, taking several books down with him as he fell flat on his face.

"Oh dear, are you alright? I didn't mean to frighten you!"

Growling at the (admittedly familiar) voice, Eddy replied simply. "Only thing that's hurt is my pride." Moving up slowly, he shook his head to get the stars out of his vision. Brushing himself off, he trailed his vision upward to the interrupting party.

He couldn't help but feel his eye twitch, noticing that it was Apple White.

Apple seemed to recognize him too, judging from the sudden recognition coming across her own features.

"Oh, you're one of the boys from the tour." She clapped her hands in a display, eyes lighting up. "You're Eddy, correct? I know it's only been one day, but I was wondering how the school's been treating you so far."

Eddy forced a smile, already wary of the saccharine grin on her face. God, there's no way someone was this nice without having an agenda. "It's been an interesting experience. It's just taking a little..." He couldn't help but notice a dragon in distance through a nearby window. He gulped. "...time to _adjust_."

To his relief, she nodded in an understanding manner. "I suppose it is a little difficult. Is this your first time away from your parents?" She asked it innocently, but she couldn't help but notice him straighten up a little.

"Er," Eddy stumbled over his words for a second. "It kinda is. Never really been this far from home before." Half of that was a lie. He and his friends were already in lots of places around the country at this point, but they were far away from home.

"I'm sure your parents miss you as much as you miss them. I wouldn't worry too much."

And wow, did that send a wave of guilt through him. Really, he got out of there for a reason, but who know what they were thinking. He just sort of…

He forced himself to get back into the moment. He shouldn't wait too long to answer.

Eddy's muscles tightened, eyes moving away from hers as he nervously laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right on that one."

The princess would have questioned things, but she noticed the discomforted expression. Strange. Maybe he didn't think his parents would care? No, that couldn't be it.

She decided to change the subject. "Can I ask what you're researching? I would've thought that you and your friends would be exploring the town right now."

Eddy relaxed minutely, groaning. "Trust me, I'd be far away from here if I could, but Double D was going on about reviewing some stuff before classes start." He looked at the pile of stools that were on the floor. "Sending me here alone was probably a mistake."

"Oh, so you're doing study sessions before school? I know a few books that may be of help." Apple leaned forward, causing Eddy to lean just as far back. Her eyes seemed to sparkle more as another idea seemed to enter her head. "I even have a study group set up right now! Maybe you could even bring some completed notes back to your friends."

"Ok." Pointing a finger into her forehead, he pushed her back gently. "First of all, personal space. I can smell apple shampoo on you, which frankly, is not something I should know about you Princess." The girl blushed in embarrassment at that statement. "And two, why are you even asking? No offense, but you don't even know me."

He only received a shrug at the question. "I like helping people." She said it in an almost demure way, holding her hands in front of her in a way that could only be described as prim and proper. The smile on her face looked helpful, but somehow refraining from being condescending.

Eddy didn't believe it one bit.

It was probably just paranoia, but there was no way someone was just like this. No one, no way, no how, this girl had to have an angle. He couldn't say that she wasn't playing it well, but no way was it genuine.

He instantly thought about declining, but he looked at the shelves surrounding them. He wasn't an idiot, but he knew that it would take a long while to actually get through all of this stuff. Sockhead was their head researcher, so of course Eddy didn't know what to do.

Noting that he was taking too long to answer, he just smiled back. "You know what?" He said, making sure there was an upturn in his voice. "Why not. Wouldn't mind some help with all of this."

Apple couldn't help but be overjoyed at this, glad to win him over. He was thinking it over for a pretty long time and wondered if something was wrong, but he must have been a little indecisive. "Excellent. My groups is just a little ways away, so if you'll just follow me..."

Turning around, she thought it over on how she would have to go over things with her group. She was sure Raven wouldn't mind and Maddie was always looking for new friends to drink tea with. Cerise would probably be okay. Maybe.

Eddy followed behind, keeping his eyes squarely on her. If she had an agenda, he might as well play along until he figured out what it is.

Who knows? It might be fun.

* * *

Double D and Ed were having a much better time of gathering materials. However, if the fact Ed was attempting to balance pencils on his nose was any indication, only one of them was really into it.

"Ed, please focus." Grabbing the pencil off his friends nose lightly, he put it down on the table. A notebook with a page almost covered in scribbled in notes. He was already planning to take in the history books for further study, but he was making sure to write down any other subjects that caught his interest.

_Raising the dead, advanced robotics, cursed artifacts..._

The list went on, quite honestly. Ed kept contributing with his own suggestions on future studies, but the interest he had shown was waning as they got down to brass tacks. That didn't mean he wasn't trying though.

He was just focusing on the weirder facts instead.

"Hey, Double D, look." Ed had opened up a picture of what appeared to be Nikola Tesla surrounded by some monsters, holding on to be his prototype of a laser. "Turns out those doomsday devices really _were _real! Isn't it awesome?!"

The smart Ed boy quirked an eyebrow, a subtle twitch of an eye. "That's one word for it."

This was going to take some getting used to.

It didn't go unnoticed, even if Ed was enjoying himself immensely. At least one of them had to, especially if they were doing this long term. Though he could tell his friend was going just a _wee_ bit nuts at one revelation after another. He felt for him, he really did. He figured the science facts would bring him out of it though.

Maybe he was doing it wrong?

Closing the book, he leaned back in his chair and smiled. The look in his eyes were unfocused and he didn't look at his friend at all while he did this. "I'm scared too."

Double D blinked, looking up from the book he was reading. "What?" It came out a little quiet, barely made it out of his mouth.

"Don't get me wrong, this place is awesome!" Ed finally waved his hands in all-encompassing gesture, smiling. "But it's also really scary. You really think that thing we saw yesterday didn't freak me out?" He laughed good naturedly. "I couldn't stop thinking about that all night! Not to mention Bloodgood taking off her head."

He stopped to scratch his chin. "Wonder how she did that, though. But anyway," He stopped leaning back on the chair, the legs clacking against floor loudly. "The only reason I'm not freaking out is because I see all the cool things we can do here. Where no one will yell at us for doing something we like, even if it doesn't affect them personally."

"With no responsibilities except to ourselves." Double D straightened up immediately. He hadn't mean for that to slip out.

"Exactly!" Just like it started, the moment abruptly ended when Ed immediately grabbed open another book. Gleefully flipping to another page, he ignored the questioning look his friend sent his way.

Double D stared for a good ten seconds before deciding to just roll with it. Ed rarely ever got serious, but it was probably for the best to just move on keep the ball rolling.

"I," He swallowed reluctantly. "I appreciate the encouragement Ed." The smile he got in return was brief, but at least he understood.

Getting back to it, however, he couldn't help but think about what to do after this. It looked like Monster High had plenty of information that they could use, so the matter of research wasn't an issue for at least the monster side. However, the other goals would be much more difficult to obtain.

"Hey!"

The sudden greeting made the two boys jump. Turning to the voice, to their semi-pleasant surprise, it was just Clawdeen and Ghoulia. The two were moving to their table, the outgoing girl waving as her friend trailed behind.

"What's up you two? Didn't exactly get to say goodbye yesterday, so I started worrying that you weren't coming back." The girl was joking, but it was something she had seriously worried about when she didn't see them for the rest of the day. Hell, she even came back here in human form to make sure they didn't run again.

"Ah, right," Double D rubbed the back of his neck, visibly embarrassed. "I suppose we did give you something to worry about. We were just a little surprised when Fluffy came out. We're sorry about that."

She waved it off, grabbing two chairs and bring them to the table. "Don't be. Fluffy freaks out even the old monsters, and I know they've seen some messed up stuff." Plopping down, she smiled warily. "Of course, you weren't even supposed to see him at all, but still."

_"She's right."_ Ghoulia signed, looked a little regretful. _"Though, in my defense, I did attempt to dissuade Cleo from using him. You know how she is, though."_

Ed just laughed. "Hey it's fine. It was a pretty cool welcome party if you ask me!" He shrugged, chuckling a little. "Man, we almost ran out the town before the headmistress caught up with us."

"Seriously?" Clawdeen laughed too. "Good to know she found you, but I guess that's why she took Nightmare with her." Her expression turned to one of guilt, though, as she shifted in her seat. "Though, I guess I should apologize though. I mean, that was still shock to your system."

Double D quirked an eyebrow, some anxiety settling in. "W-What do you mean?"

_"Bloodgood informed us that none of you were used to being around other monsters." _Ghoulia helpfully replied, sending a look his way. This caused the teen to relax, though his laugh was strained.

"Yes. Um," He paused, blinking cluelessly. "Unfortunately, our parents didn't happen to live in a place where monsters were common. We kind of onlyhad each other."

"Yeah, the three amigos." Ed leaned back in his chair. "Just Ed, Edd, n' Eddy, doing their own thing with property damage to follow!"

"Ed, please don't mention the property damage. I'd much rather forget that." Double D was already having flashbacks to falling houses and he surely didn't appreciate spreading that information.

"Told you these guys were a riot." Clawdeen whispered to Ghoulia, eyes ping-ponging between the two boys as they bantered. She cleared her throat to catch their attention. "We figured that, but still."

"Really, it's fine." Double D made sure to send a more forgiving look their way. "It's something that we'll just have to get used to. We're just not used to people being so…"

The word would have been odd, but he hesitated as he figured that would be the wrong message.

"…open about it." He finished. "If there were any other monsters in the last place we lived, we didn't exactly know about it."

Clawdeen winced a bit at that. "That kinda explains some things, I guess. Never really went to some of the bigger areas, like in Salem?"

"Nope!" Ed shook his head. "Kinda sucks though, would have been cool if we could have gotten out here sooner."

"Quite." Double D said. While the lies were flowing out easily, he figured it was best to change the subject. "My friend and I were just going through some subjects of interest, actually. Due to our background, we didn't have access to these resources before now. Would either of you like to help us?"

"_I have plenty of experience doing this type of research. Any specific subject you're focusing on?"_ Ghoulia questioned, looking over the notes they had splayed across the table.

"History as of right now, but I wouldn't mind some recommendations later in scientific fields."

"_I already have a few in mind." _She started to move towards the shelves, stopping to turn around. _"Would it be okay if one of you helped me pick them up? There's quite a few that would be good to be looked over."_

"I will!" Ed hopped up, moving to the zombie girls' side. "I'm used to moving whole stacks for Double D when he gets too into studying. Just show me where!"

"_Fantastic." _She nodded calmly, only raising an eyebrow at the tall Ed's exuberance. She moved forward, leading him to an unmarked shelf.

Clawdeen watched them go with a careful eye. "I'm guessing Ed is the muscle out of you three?"

"To say the least." Double D scratched the back of his neck nervously. "He's always been the strongest one out of all of us. Never truly figured out how, but it sort of worked out during our more heavy-duty projects."

"Can be pretty useful. I usually have my brother move my sewing equipment around, even when he gripes about it." She checked her fingernails casually. "Kinda surprised that he hasn't gone off into his monster form yet though."

The smart Ed boy felt his brain stop for a second. "Hm?"

"You know, his monster form." She waved at the direction the two had went. "I mean, don't get me wrong, his human disguise is pretty great, but I thought he'd be more comfortable letting loose. What kind of monsters are you two anyway?"

Double D felt his blood run cold as he realized he didn't necessarily have an answer for that. "Well, that's," He gulped, brain rushing to come up with an acceptable answer. "He's just not comfortable with that just yet. We're still getting used to the idea of being out of hiding, you know."

Clawdeen gave him a curious look that made him shake a little in his seat. It _sounded_ passable within his own head, but that didn't mean she couldn't poke some holes in it. Please believe it, please, please, _please!_

She sighed and nodded in an understanding manner, bringing Double D back from the edge of a panic attack. "That's fair. Probably gotta build up some trust first." She remembered something though. "What about you though?"

"Confidentiality." He said instantly, the lie spilling out instantly. "Due to my status as a student of both Monster and Ever After High, Bloodgood asked that I keep what I actually am a secret until further notice. Prevents long term conflicts from occurring on either side."

The werewolf raised her eyebrows at this. "Damn, straight from the Headmistress herself? Sounds serious."

"It is." He relaxed, happily surprised that this was going smoothly. "It helps produce the possibility of both schools intermingling in the future. In a positive manner, of course."

"Well, good luck on that." She shifted to look at him in straight on. "Sounds pretty heavy for a new student to deal with, personally, but good luck."

"I appreciate it." The boy felt the need to change the subject fast. Noting something they talked about earlier. "Now that I think about it, you asked about me and Ed's monster forms, but I don't think I know yours. You've been in your human disguise this whole time, so aren't you a little uncomfortable?"

"Oh." She blinked, looking away briefly. He was right, but that didn't mean he had to say it. "Yeah, I figured that it would be a little overwhelming since what happened yesterday, so I just didn't bother turning again."

He frowned, a feeling of guilt settling in. "Well, that just won't do. You can turn into yours if you want to."

She raised an eyebrow and looked around briefly. "You sure about that?"

"I insist."

Clawdeen blinked once again but shrugged. Well, if he was being polite.

Double D jumped when he heard the sound of what appeared to be bones breaking and reformed, the girl hunching over to accommodate. The fur sprang out of her skin, covering her inch by inch. He was honestly a little more surprised at the ears that appeared to grow out of her hair, flitting all about in the fresh air.

Double D fought down from swallowing spit as she turned up to him, noting that her eyes were now a molten gold. "Do you feel more comfortable now?"

Licking her lips and sending a fanged grin over to the boy, she replied.

"Much better."

* * *

The table Eddy sat at in the library was a little chaotic, though that wasn't exactly different for Eddy. What _was_ different was the fact that there was a little addition of magic to it.

He did his best to watch discretely as Raven was attempting to float around Maddie's tea set, with latter girl attempting to make to make some tea as they floated around. Flitting between adding some sugar, cinnamon, or whatever else. He'd honestly lost track after she mentioned 'Xtreme tea making.' The lone x at the start of extreme was implied.

"Maddie, you know I absolutely love helping you," Raven said carefully, a bead of sweat going down her forehead. "But maybe doing this is a little too dangerous?"

"Nonsense! What would the appeal of tea be if there was no risk to making it?" Moving some cups around, she shrugged. "Though, I wouldn't worry about having to hold these up much longer. I'll be finished quite soon with this batch."

Eddy leaned over to the disinterested Cerise as she kept her eyes on her book. "I'm guessing they do this often?"

"Pretty much." She didn't bother to look up, turning the page and scanning over the words. "You get used to it."

He shrugged and simply watched the show. Well, he more or less watched how Raven used her magic really. There was a lot of questions bubbling to the surface about _how _that was a thing, but he forced them down for now. He made sure to pick something up on that before he got here and was avoiding the urge to thumb at the book he stashed in his pocket.

Eddy couldn't help but find it weird that he actually wanted to read a stupid book now. Then again, he thought as he watched Raven imperceptibly moved some cups out of Maddie's way, this was the first subject he'd ever been interested in.

Which reminded him that he probably should be going through the books Apple had helped find with him. Less fun in his opinion, but he might as well.

He'd already amassed a decent number of notes, especially considering his normal study habits. He felt a little proud of himself if he was being honest. Scam or otherwise, this was honestly the most effort he'd put into something. Maybe Sockhead had a point in the 'whole hard is its own reward' idea after all.

"Are the books I picked working out for you?" Eddy jumped at the sound of Apple's voice, but quickly nodded. He still didn't exactly trust her, but she had been a big help.

"It's been slow going, but I think I've got the hang of it." He said, filing up the notes neatly. He'd check over them later with Double D and he'd bring the books too. "Probably going to check it over with my friends later."

"Seems kind of weird that you have to go over all of this." Cerise noted, giving him a short look while she turned another page. "I get wanting to review some stuff, but you're going a little far back for someone who should know this stuff."

An expected question but Eddy still didn't like that she asked it. "Well excuse me for being thorough, Red. Maybe I want to put some effort into my schoolwork this year. Is it that strange to hear?"

"No." She replied plainly. "But you don't seem like the type of guy who would do this for fun."

"Come on, Cerise." Raven said, attempting to sound casual as she balanced the plates with her magic. "It's not that weird. Heck, I need a refresher after every summer."

"It is a bit strange though." She (ironically) said as she kept moving the tea set around, the pot having more ingredients added to make whatever blend Maddie was making now. "Seems like it's all new to you."

"You're really talking to me about strange?" He raised an eyebrow, scrambling for a lie. "Look, I just sort of lived in the human world for a long time and my parents were a little too paranoid about being found out. Never taught me much about it."

"That's," Apple looked like she wanted to say something but blinked at the statement. "That's actually kind of horrible."

Eddy tensed at the stares they were giving him. "What can I say?" He shrugged casually, not meeting anyone's eyes. "They're really paranoid people."

It didn't seem like anyone was really satisfied by that answer. Ok, he needed a breather.

"Look," He got up from his chair. "I'm going to find some other books to take out. Always good to fact check." He turned and power walked away, giving no room for argument.

Getting a good distance away was pretty easy, but he knew that he'd have to get back there eventually. Of course, now he had time to come up with a lie, but he had to come up with something that would make sense.

"Psst."

Eddy blinked, looking around him before noticing a blonde guy motioning towards him. He raised an eyebrow. Right, that wasn't suspicious in the slightest.

Screw it, he might as well. Buys him some time.

As he moved over, he checked over the guy. Short blonde hair, rich clothing, a dumb crown on his head. Smelled heavily of cologne, with hair products meticulously molding said blonde hair into its current shape.

A prince. Eddy straightened up so to look a little more intimidating, though he didn't necessarily know why.

"Excuse me," The prince started, and god did he sound perfect from the part with an extremely haughty voice. "I couldn't help but notice that you were sitting next to a… _particular_ student."

"Who, Apple? Look dude, if you have a crush on her or something, that's none of my business. She's just helping me study." Eddy raised his hands in front of him, giving a faux nervous smile.

"What? No, no," The prince waved his hands front himself. "That's not who I was talking about."

"Maddie then? I mean, I can get the appeal there," The Ed boy scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Bubbly and cute, but I figure she's got to be really hyperactive. Oh, wait, is it Cerise you're talking about? I mean, if you want a tsundere, you do you, but I'd watch what you do around her…"

"No!" The blonde shushed him with a finger, making Eddy stop finally. "That is not what I was talking about. I was talking about Raven; who I insist I don't wish to court at this time."

Eddy snickered. This guy just used the word courting for dating? Is this guy for real? "Then what are you talking about? I'm kinda busy here, dude."

"Look, I'm here to give you a warning." He pointed to Raven, who was currently laughing at a joke Maddie was telling her. "If you've heard anything about the Evil Queen, you'd know to stay away from her."

"Too bad I've never heard of the Evil Queen." Eddy rolled his eyes, getting bored of the conversation quickly.

"What?!" He seemed flabbergasted, if there ever was a word. "Look, all I'm saying that if you know better, staying away from the Evil Queen's daughter would be a priority."

Eddy couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Okay, the whole aim of the school is to follow your parent's footsteps and you demonize a student for having a bad one. That's a _tad_ bit hypocritical. And don't know a thing about Raven, since I can tell she's nice after barely knowing her for a couple of hours." He paused, looking over the prince briefly. "Who'd you say you were?"

"Daring Charming, of the Charming family."

"Course you are." He moved forward, giving off an easy aura. "Look, Charmless, I'm pretty sure you're a nice guy and all, but there's one thing you should know about me."

Daring looked confused, frowning at the display. "What would that be?"

Eddy suddenly flicked the end of his nose, turning around abruptly. "I don't like being told what to do. Later!"

He ignored the complaints from the prince behind him. He chuckled, already pushing the conversation out of his mind. He'd look into the whole 'Evil Queen' situation later…

"Hey."

Eddy jumped at the sound of Cerise's voice, turning to her quickly. "Red!? Jeez, warn a guy next time, would ya'!"

He waited for her to respond, keeping his composure as she narrowed her eyes at him and looking him over carefully. After a couple of seconds, she seemed to relax and nodded. "Apple's got the next lesson plan set up and wanted to make sure you were there. Also asked if any of your friends were coming."

"Okay." He nodded back. He couldn't help but feel like he passed some sort of test. "One of them is coming over while the other looks for some stuff in New Salem. He'll be here soon."

Cerise only nodded as she moved back towards the table without his input. He followed closely behind, keeping his eye on the display as Maddie seemingly finished making the tea she had been preparing the entire time. Raven moved them into a pyramid shape as Maddie poured into the top cup, having it overflow into the others with impossible precision. Placing them down onto the empty seats, Maddie made a bow as Raven and Apple applauded her efforts.

Eddy watched the flames on Ravens hands die and noticed an extra teacup that wasn't for him or Cerise.

"You think Raven will help me out with some magic?"

* * *

"Well," Double D said as he put the books, they'd checked out into his bag carefully. "I'd say that was a good visit. I'm sure that the information we've gathered will be a big help. We'll make sure to return the favor once we're able."

_"Don't mention it."_ The zombie (as he and Ed learned) shrugged, still signing away. Clawdeen nodded as well. giving her own noncommittal shrug. _"Anything to help our fellow students."_

"Picked out a lotta books, though." Clawdeen watched as Double D shifted the weight of the backpack carefully. "You sure you guys are gonna' get through all of those before school starts?"

"We'll probably get through them in a week." Ed waved off the concern as he flipped through a book titled _Lovecraftian Creatures and You_, somehow not losing his focus. "Double D knows how to study for someone that hangs out with me and Eddy."

"'Eddy and I' Ed." The smart Ed boy corrected. "It will take some time, but I think we'll have a decent grasp of things before the school year begins. Even if Ed's praise is slightly exaggerated, it really won't take much time."

_"It's getting your friends to pay attention that will be the challenge." _Ghoulia let out a what could be interpreted as a chuckle. _"Trust me when I say that I understand."_

"Hey, I try to listen! Doesn't help that it's all so _boring_." Clawdeen yawned as if to prove her point, Double D failing to not look at the sharp teeth she bared. "I get B's anyway, so it's not a problem."

_"I wasn't necessarily talking about you, Clawdeen."_ What could only be interpreted as a laugh came from the ghoul. Double D made it a point to himself to learn more about zombies, especially when it comes to their decayed vocal cords. Apparently, they could be understood despite it being gurgles and moans, but it took some practice to understand it.

"Anyway," The werewolf attempted to forget the burn in her cheeks, turned her heads to the boys. "What exactly are you guys planning to do after this? You got some books now, but I hope that isn't the only thing you plan to do."

"Probably gonna explore the town for a bit. Maybe see if we can get one of those business permits, they do for students." Ed flipped through the book some more, the thoughts slipping out. "A garage would be nice."

"True." Double D stared off into the distance. "A space open enough for own experiments, plus if we wanted to mess with some larger vehicles. Of course, access to a junkyard would be preferable." He shook his head. "That depends on location. It can be determined later."

"Gotta find clothes too." Ed added. The smart Ed boy hummed in agreement, not looking behind him. Clothes too, of course.

Ghoulia raised an eyebrow. _"It sounds like you three planned things out pretty well."_

"I'll say," Clawdeen huffed. "You got a month planned out better than I do when it comes to the rest of my _life_."

Ed chuckled. "We made a list. Wanted to make things smooth or people here might think we're weird."

"Probably too late for that." Double D attempted to mumble, but it got a laugh out of everyone present. "Though, I'd say what we've done so far is a big leap forward."

_"I actually think I can get someone to help you on the business permit front."_ Ghoulia signed carefully. _"It might be difficult, but it wouldn't be too hard to convince her to help you."_

Ed clapped the zombie on the back with a grin, causing her to stumble. "Seriously, you do anymore for us, we might start thinking you're a guardian angel here."

_"Duly noted."_ She chuckled softly to herself. She straightened herself out before continuing. _"If you want something good, you're going to have a few channels to get a permit. They're more lax for students since the schools lean on the city government, but that doesn't mean it's always easy."_

"Who are you gonna' set them up with to get past some stuff, though?" Clawdeen asked. She narrowed her eyes as Ghoulia seemed a bit nervous, twiddling her thumbs. She stopped, eyes widening. "No."

Ghoulia let out a sigh, moving her hands as she could. _"Clawdeen, she's a good source for getting permits and her father is on the town committee."_

"Doesn't mean they should make a deal with _her_. You know how her dad is, anyway."

_"Just because you two have some issues does not mean-"_

"That isn't what I'm focusing on! I'm just sayin'-"

"Excuse me?" Double D said, raising his hand cautiously to get their attention. "But I think it would be up to us to determine whoever we make deals with. Is there somebody you would like to recommend, Ghoulia?"

Ghoulia seemed relieved that the boy was willing to hear her out, even though Clawdeen huffed, growling under her breath. _"I was thinking that maybe we could go to Cleo. She knows several vacant lots that would be perfect for what you're looking for, especially if you want it to be profitable."_

Ed, for the first time that day, frowned. "You mean the cheerleader from yesterday? I mean, that sounds cool and all, but I don't think she'd like to see us after the whole thing with Eddy."

_"I'm sure she'd be willing to overlook that. She's dramatic sometimes, but not unreasonable."_ Ghoulia shrugged, pulling out her iCoffin.

"You sure about that?" The werewolf rolled her eyes, stomping ahead of the group. They watched her stalk ahead, all of them hesitant to make the initial move to stop her.

_"Hm."_ This time, the sound actually came from Ghoulia, who didn't seem surprised by her friends exit. _"Is it alright if one of you goes after her? I have to make a call and I feel like I'd only make her angry if I tried talking her into it."_

Ed looked to Double D, motioning to Ghoulia. He wanted to stay nearby and check on the phone conversation apparently. Double D only nodded before psyching himself up to deal with Clawdeen.

Catching up with her was easy, he realized, but starting conversation was apparently harder, he realized. He rubbed the back of his neck as he walked next to her, the fact that she was staring straight ahead and seemingly ignoring. He opened his mouth but was interrupted by the werewolf shortly.

"It's not that I don't think it's a good idea," She started slowly, hiding any emotion that attempted to slip through. "It's just that she's proven to be untrustworthy before."

Double D frowned. "I can't say that what I've seen so far from her that she has a pleasant disposition," He paused as he heard her snort at that. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to turn down a possible asset. Especially if it means smoothing some bumps in the road in the future."

She sighed, ears drooping in a way that he couldn't help but find adorable. "Fine. I get it, but just a fair warning; she ain't exactly the most loyal person I know. And trust me, that means a lot coming from a werewolf."

The frown continued to persist on Double D's face, but he couldn't summon the courage to follow up on what she meant. He couldn't help but feel that it wasn't his place to talk about it. It was probably a better idea to just change the subject now.

Now that he thought about it, he figured it would be a good idea to help further another goal.

"You said that you run a clothing business online, correct?"

Clawdeen jumped at the sudden turn but welcomed it. "Yeah, I do some commissions online. What of it?"

Double D smiled confidently, glad to see she was playing along. "You remember that Ed and I wanted to change our looks since the upcoming school year is coming up. Mostly since our choice of outfit is particularly too..." He struggled for the right word. "...human. I was wondering if you would help provide use with such."

Clawdeen seemed to perk up at the thought of business coming to her store. However, she raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you guys still lookin' for a job though?"

"Indeed." He nodded, not impeded by the observation. "As wards of the school, we have to procure our own income first in order to buy things outside of necessary items. However, I believe we can come to a compromise."

The werewolf nodded along. He's been pretty trustworthy so far, so she didn't see the harm of letting him have an offer. "Go ahead."

"I'd help out with your commissions for a while in order to pay off for any outfit my friends and I acquire." He stopped and turned slowly to her, causing her to stop as well. "I'm very good with a sewing machine and I've had to fix clothing before on multiple occasions. I don't necessarily know how much you charge, but the amount of labor can be discussed later."

"Bold move to make an offer like this." She cocked her hip and rested a hand on it. "Not a bad deal, but what if commissions clear up for a while? Can't necessarily risk possibly losing money."

"Considering the amount of homecoming dresses you'll be making within the next two months, I'm sure you'll be fine. Like I've said, we'll talk more on it later." Double D put out a hand between them, calm, but confident. "Do we have a deal, Ms. Wolf."

She cocked her head to the side, chewing on her lip in thought. Eyeing the hand between them, she nodded slowly and grabbed it. Squeezing it hard and shaking it enough to make the boy wince, she smiled a toothy smile. "Deal."

_**You put a sour little flavor in my mouth now,**_

_**You move in circles hoping no one's gonna find out,**_

_**But we're so lucky,**_

_**Kiss the ring and let 'em bow down,**_

_**Looking for the time of your life (no one's gonna find out).***_

The two jumped as the ringtone went off, Double D scrambling to get the MirrorPhone out of his pocket. The other Ed and monster were starting to catch up with them.

"Oh, Eddy's calling you? Any idea what's that about?" Ed asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

"He's probably just asking for some help with his research. Surprised he didn't call sometime before." Double D accepted the call and put Eddy on speaker, though he held his hand over the button just in case. "Is everything going on alright, Eddy?"

_**"Sockhead!" **_Eddy shouted on the other end of the call. _**"Everything's going good, just got a little help from some friends here. Just calling to check on things going on your end."**_

"It's going great, actually. We got some help, but I think our efforts were fruitful considering we've only been at this a day."

_**"Good to hear!" **_Eddy laughed wholeheartedly. _**"Got some notes myself and some books we can check out later. I wouldn't mind some last-minute help though. Mind coming over the Ever After for a bit?"**_

Double D frowned, looking to Ed. The latter Ed boy smiled and gave a thumbs up. He figured he'd deal with finding a garage for them since it looked like his friend would be busy. Double D nodded warily and turned to the phone. "I suppose. Ed's going to find us a place for our garage, though."

_**"Eh, he's got it handled. Alright, you're gonna' have to prepare yourself, you might get sick for a second."**_

Double D blinked. "What are you talking about?"

With those final words, the MirrorPhone started to glow with a deep purple light, flashing in a random sequence. Before anyone could say a word, the random sequence reached a frequency that led to it becoming one consistent light, engulfing Double D in a bright flash.

The next minute, he was absolutely gone.

The three that were left stared at the scene in quiet shock for almost ten seconds, wondering what exactly they just saw.

"… Welp, he's dead." Ed started to walk in a random direction, not exactly taking in the situation. "He'll probably be back next chapter though. Where'd you say we were meeting Cleo again?"

The two monsters scrambled after him with many different questions on their minds and very few answers they expected to get.

* * *

***Opening lyrics of Miss Jackson by Panic! at the Disco**


	5. 5 Scoping Out

**So far, so good. Thank you all who've commented and I hope that keep on enjoying to read this. Make sure to suggest this to people if you think it's up their alley!**

**Can't say that I'm totally satisfied with this chapter, but I think I did a pretty decent job all considering. Just wanted to flesh out some character interactions and dynamics first before moving forward. A bigger adventure will be available for next chapter, don't you worry.**

* * *

Double D wasn't one to get motion sickness easily. He'd been in cars, buses, planes, and various rides in his youth to know that he was fairly lucky to not have gained that particular disadvantage.

However, while he was face down on the carpet, dazed with a hint of nausea, he heavily sympathized with people that did.

"Probably should done this near a mattress or something." Eddy mumbled, crouching over his friends' body. He ignored the panicked muttering of Raven and focused on poking his friend with a book. "You okay there, Sockhead? As graceful as that landing was, it still looked pretty painful."

"I'm currently dazed and confused, but largely unharmed." The hatted boy replied, face still located within the carpet. "In the future, I'd like a bit of warning."

"Sorry!" Raven said, finally moving out of her mumbles. "When he said he wanted something teleported over the phone, I thought he was trying to get a book. He didn't say anything about it being a person!"

"I never said it was going to be a book, _you_ assumed that." Eddy pointed the book at her before continuing to poke at his friend. "I figured it was about time to head into town and see what they had with some new friends here. Figured that you spent enough time in New Salem and was about time you moved around here."

"Gee, thank you for the invitation." Double D said sarcastically, finally summoning the energy to swat away the offending book and moved onto his back. Moving up slowly, he was suddenly face to face with a teacup filled with something that smelled of peppermint.

"Tea can help with the nerves. First couple of teleportation's are always a bit rough, so I'd suggest taking some in the future." Maddie sagely said, swirling it under his nose to emphasize her point. She smiled as Double D took the cup and smiled back in thanks, moving beside Raven to help settle her nerves.

"Your friend really loves doing stupid stuff when no one's looking, huh?" Cerise raised an eyebrow as Double D laughed at the question.

"Quite often. Really does turn out to be a problem more often than not." He took a sip of the tea, refusing to meet her eyes. "Though, it's not like it's worked to our advantage in the first place."

"Hey, I'm right here!" Eddy gasped as both looked at him with a deadpan expression. He turned around and crossed his arms, grumbling to himself. earning a roll of the eyes from Double D.

"Excuse me, Eddy, but when do you expect your- oh, he's already here." Apple said, walking out with a bag filled with her books for today. "Good timing. How did you get here so quickly?"

"I had a little help." Double D sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry for coming at such short notice. Eddy didn't really give me much choice."

Apple didn't exactly know what was going on, especially since Raven looked like she was at the end of a panic attack, but she somehow felt like extending her line of questioning would only make her even more confused. "It's quite all right, we were planning on moving on soon. I'm assuming that your friend in New Salem is going to be fine working alone on his errands?"

"I," Double D looked confident for a second before sending a look to Eddy. The Ed boys looked mortified for a second before the smart Ed boy turned to Apple and smiled nervously. "If you wouldn't mind…"

Bringing out the iCoffin, he typed in the number and put it on speaker. The phone rang twice before the cheery voice of Ed came out.

_**"Double D, you lived!"**_

The Eds visibly relaxed at that. "Ed, I was just teleported to Ever After. You can thank Eddy for that." Said boy laughed as Double D sent him a small glare. "I just wanted to make sure that things were going well on your end. You know the objective, correct?"

_**"Get a garage so we can run business while we're here, scope the areas, make sure not to get distracted, and find a comic bookstore?"**_

Eddy facepalmed, groaning lightly at the boy's antics. "Failed step three." He grumbled before speaking into the phone. "Just try to get us into a good place that's near both of the towns borders. Something that might get us plenty of customers. No comic bookstores right now."

_**"Aw."**_

The two Ed boys could hear snickers around them as the girls listened in. "I'm serious, Ed. We gotta' get something good. It'd be nice to have some cash in reserve."

_**"Got it Eddy!" **_There was a brief pause as Ed seemed to chatter with somebody else before he came back. _**"Oh, Double D! Clawdeen wanted to make sure you got her number for that thing you were talking about. I'll text it to you soon."**_

Double refused to meet Eddy's curious gaze, a faint blush appearing on his face. "I appreciate it Ed. We'll check in later at Eddy's dorm, okay? Eddy and I have some business to conduct here."

Exchanging goodbyes, the boys sighed in relief. Looks like Ed was on the ball. They saw the curious glances of the girls and chuckled.

"Nothin' major. Looks like we can go ahead and check out the town." Eddy put his hands in his pocket and leaned back onto a shelf. He looked at Apple, still wary. "You got any idea where to start, Princess?"

"Oh, actually, I do." She adjusted the bag and moved towards the library's exit. "There's this nice little cafe that you three would absolutely adore, along with this other place that..."

Her voice trailed off as she went forward, leaving them behind. Raven followed close behind, rolling her eyes at the girls' antics, Cerise and Maddie coming after. The Eds were left behind, with Eddy turning to Double D.

He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows. "So, why's a girl giving you her number, Sockhead?"

Double D flicked his nose and ran up to catch up with the others.

* * *

Ed, pushing the button to hang up on the phone, turned to the two ghouls next to him. "Where to next? I mean, we can meet Cleo anywhere, but since they're getting to know the Bookend…"

"Don't worry, big guy, we got plenty of time for exploring the town before school starts." Clawdeen waved off his concerns, looking to Ghoulia for answers. "Any idea where she'll be? Might as well get it over with."

"_We'll be meeting her at the Maul. Nefera was able to get a modeling contract far away from here and apparently she's celebrating."_ Ghoulia clicked off the phone, putting it away for safe keeping. _"Hopefully, that contract will _keep_ her away."_

"God, I certainly hope so." Clawdeen said it with more disgust then she even talked about Cleo. Ed couldn't help but feel like that was familiar somehow.

"Not a friend of yours?" An itch formed at the back of his mind as he saw the two girls' wince. Ed wasn't the smartest or the most observant person in the world, something he was kind of aware of when his grip on reality was tighter. Really, he only got this smart after Double D practically forced him into tutoring when their old school tried holding Ed back a grade.

But when he did know something, he would gladly pursue it and see how he could help. Couldn't rely on Double D and Eddy _all_ the time, right?

Ghoulia rubbed at arm nervously, though was eventually coaxed into speaking at Ed's innocent smile. _"It's a very complicated situation. Something that I'm sure Cleo would not appreciate me talking about while she isn't around."_

"Still," The werewolf spoke, shaking her head. "Can't envy having her for a sister. I've heard some stories from Clawdia."

Ed couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I know how you feel. Eddy has a pretty bad older brother. Only really met him once and that was enough."

"_Is he as much of a prima donna that vies for everyone's attention?" _Ghoulia raised an eyebrow and thought back to the encounter yesterday with the supposed Legend. Similar personality types did either get along swimmingly or clash head to head, so an open confirmation of similar experiences was particularly interesting.

"I mean, not like that I guess." The boy looked into space as he walked, hands in pockets. "He was just more of…" He trailed off, thinking deeply about his next words, before blinking and straightening up. "Actually, that isn't a fun topic either. Eddy wouldn't want me talking about it."

The two ghouls frowned, but neither decided to pick back up on the topic. Though the zombie did figure it was strange that out of everything he openly talked about, he shied away from this. None of the boys were particularly shy, as far as she could tell, so this made her curious.

"Hey," Ed said suddenly, driving them out of the awkward silence he put them in. "While we're heading over, what do you guys do for fun around here? Other than the mall, of course."

At this, Clawdeen shrugged as she kicked at a pebble near her feet. "Lots of things, to be honest. Casketball games, fearleading practice, even host a party or two from time to time. Can't really do much outside of the walls, though, due to the whole 'hiding in plain sight' thing we do."

_"She's got a point. While there are plenty of Monster and Legend societies out there, traveling is hard to do. Not much can be done other than try to enjoy ourselves in our private spaces."_ Ghoulia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, frowning. _"Clawdeen, of course, does fashion, while I focus more on pop culture pursuits."_

"What kind?" The boy asked, slowing down to match the zombie's pace. He tilted his head curiously, giving a look in their direction.

_"Comic books mostly."_ She almost muttered it, like she was embarrassed. _"It's something to do and I generally like the art style. I keep up with monster comics usually, but the Marvel movies have caught my interest enough to consider giving human comics a try."_

Clawdeen wasn't sure how to feel about Ed's eyes lighting up at that, and she wasn't able to figure out before he started talking a mile a minute.

"Ohhhh, I can actually recommend a few that you could start with! I mean, I don't know how many of the movies you've seen, but it'd be a good idea to start with Captain America. Or maybe Iron Man? I mean, the Hulk movies came out before, but I don't know if any of those are actually a part of the actual story-"

The werewolf would have laughed at the dumbstruck look on her friends face if she wasn't just as surprised at the sudden outburst. However, she did smile a bit as Ghoulia seemed to purposefully move a little closer to Ed, who seemed lost within his own ramblings. Least she had someone to talk to about it now.

"-not to mention how everyone doesn't seem to like Thor now. I mean, so what, some pretty big stuff happened to him, of course he's not going to be 100 percent okay! But anyway, I..." He trailed off and stared into space, blinking quickly. "I probably should have asked about monster comics first. Sorry about that."

_"It's fine. It sounds like you at least know what you're talking about. Though, I have a few series you might like as well." _She paused for a second before thinking of something. _"Though, if you have all of that to say about the MCU, what about DCU?"_

Ed smiled nervously, looking around carefully. "At the risk of being hounded by DC fans for the rest of this fic, I'll just say they're trying their best with what they have."

Ghoulia, despite her confusion, just decided to shrug. _"I'll take your word for it."_

"You sure that will amount to much?"

The trio jumped, realizing that they made it to the entrance of the Maul. Clawdeen growled instinctually, ears at attention, while Ghoulia rolled her eyes at the display. Looking forward, she gave a simple greeting. _"It's good to see you, Cleo."_

Ed's smile became a little strained as the Egyptian seemed to look him over before replying in a calm tone.

"Likewise."

* * *

The four legends, despite coming from very different backgrounds and having very different experiences in life, could agree on one thing at the moment.

These guys were really weird.

"Come on, Sockhead, just put on the chicken hat! He said he'd do it half off if you do!"

"No! I at least have _some_ decency!"

"That's a lie and you know it!"

None of the girls necessarily knew what they were trying to get a discount _for, _but it seemed like it wasn't going to work, judging the boy's argument. Eddy waved around the chicken hat angrily, while Double D refused to even look at it. They didn't even seem to notice the stares brought their way.

"God, you're impossible to work with sometimes." Eddy turned away from the boy and walked towards the girls. He stopped first and slowly held up the chicken hat to them, eyebrow raised.

"Not a chance in hell." Cerise responded.

"Fair enough." The short boy deflated and tossed the hat behind him carelessly, probably onto some poor pedestrian. "Guess I was kind of pushing it since we talked that guy into giving us a free map."

"Still not sure how you managed to do that." Raven thought it was pretty funny to watch, even though she thought that poor ogre would remain confused for hours. It was still a sight to behold. "Though, I'd probably avoid doing that too much. People do need to make money around here."

"She's got a point, Eddy." Double D said, coming up behind his friend. "Save the negotiations for later when we'll need it. We do need to gather some suppliers for our workplace if Ed happens to acquire one today."

"Fine. But I think we should probably split to cover more ground." Eddy looked around the marketplace, noting all the stalls. "Gives us more room to operate at the very least."

"Raven and I can help you with some of things." Apple grabbed her roommates' arm, unaware of the uncomfortable look she got from Raven. "I'm sure Cerise and Maddie would be glad to help Double D in his own pursuits."

Before Cerise could bring up her own grievances, Maddie grabbed her arm and pulled her over to the hatted boy. "Sounds like a hat-tastic idea! I've been dying for some screen time."

"Wait, shouldn't we try to figure out what we need to look for first?" Double D was ignored as Maddie grabbed his arm as well, pulling him away. She muttered something about the author needing to enforce more 'character interaction,' which only served to confuse him. "Eddy?!"

"Godspeed, Sockhead. I barely knew ye." Eddy saluted his panicking friend. Double D, alone with two girls, was probably going to be a disaster. At least he had him and Ed as a buffer, but now he was alone. He honestly couldn't wait for the story he'd hear after he got back.

For now, though, he was going to have to deal with Princess alone. At least he had Raven as a buffer.

Note to self; come up with a nickname for Raven.

"Alright!" Apple clapped at her hands. "Depending on what you're looking for, there are several places-"

"Hey, hey, hey, wait." He was getting tired of this trend. "You've been a great help and all, but you've been taking the lead the entire time and running off ahead. It's getting a little annoying."

"Oh," The princess paused for a second. "I didn't realize. I'm sorry. I guess I get a little carried away and expect people to always listen to me."

Eddy raised an eyebrow at that. "Yeah, that doesn't send out weird vibes _at all_." He looked to Raven. "Any idea where we should go? I personally want to learn about magical artifacts."

The girl in black shrugged, pointing away in ahead of them. "I usually get my stuff from this one girl. Has a family that deals in all types. Some of them are cursed though, if you're all right with that."

That was perfect, really, Eddy thought to himself. His friends needed to get used to enchanted stuff along with general magical items since it would be a big boon for their business. Not to mention some would be perfect for coming up with a disguise. How it would help would be hard to determine until they knew what this place had to offer, but it was worth.

Though, involuntarily, the short boy felt a chill as he remembered the ring of a telephone come to mind. "I'll manage." He turned to Apple. "That good with you, Princess?"

Apple didn't _look_ too sure, but she simply shrugged. "It might be nice to go to a new place."

"Good." Eddy started to walk in the direction Raven pointed. Raven had to start up to get ahead of him, Apple deciding to fall in line behind the boy.

The silence was surprisingly pervasive as the three moved forward, which bothered Eddy if he was being honest. Awkward silences weren't exactly his forte. Ed was better at breaking those since he barely had to put any thought into it. Just say the insane thing, get some stares, then conversation picked up.

Wait, he had the perfect conversation starter!

"Either of you know who the 'Evil Queen' is?"

He instantly regretted it as he saw Raven instantly stiffen and Apple jump from the corner of his eye. God, if that was the thing that got him caught, Sockhead would kill him.

"Nobody." Raven said quickly. She didn't bother looking behind her, but Eddy noted the robotic movements her limbs as she attempted to move forward with faux nonchalance. And failing, he might add.

"Um," Apple seemed to move forward beside Eddy, raising an eyebrow at Ravens back. "I wouldn't exactly call the woman that almost took over all of Ever After a nobody."

_And,_ he stepped on a conversational landmine. Fantastic.

"Look, can we not talk about her?" Raven sent quick look that conveyed pure annoyance. "She was imprisoned into the mirror dimension and now she can't harm anyone else. No reason to talk about her anymore."

"Hey," Eddy interrupted, stopping the incoming argument before it could truly begin. "I just wanted to know. Like I said, my parents kept some things private and I'm desperately trying to catch-up. I heard about it in the library and I figured at least one of you would know about it."

The two winced at that, causing them to stay silent, not exactly bothering to look at each other. The silence, having gone for nearly a minute, was ended by Raven sighing deeply. "Sorry. That's more than fair. Give him a history lesson, Apple."

"Ok." Said princess replied hesitantly but cleared her throat. She frowned slightly. "The Evil Queen was a very divisive figure within the community some years ago. While she played her role extremely well, with a natural ability no other evil queen had, she was also known for going a little above and beyond that role."

"You mean attempting to take over Ever After and Wonderland under an iron fist." Raven sounded downtrodden at this. "She practically made sure to take over any kingdom she came across. Kind of made it hard to make friends when they thought your mom would become their supreme overlord one day."

"Wait." Eddy narrowed his eyes and looked at her. "She was your mom?!"

The two didn't seem to know what to say to this, both staring at him like he'd grown a second head (which as far as he knew, was completely possible here). Until Raven started to laugh uproariously.

Eddy could feel his face going red, giving a glare to both of them after Apple started to giggle as well. "Come on, how was I supposed to know?! It's not like you're calling her by her name or anything!"

"We are!" Raven stifled her laughter enough to let that out. "Why do you think my last name is 'Queen,'?"

The boy blinked at her slowly, trying to wrap his head around one particular fact. "So, someone named a kid 'Evil?' Geez, a little heavy handed there, don'cha think?"

Apple giggles softened as she shook her head. "Maybe so, but she can't say she lived up to it." As her laughter died down, her smile turned to a contemplative frown. "I still don't understand why she was never satisfied with simply living up to her story. My mother said she worked perfectly as the evil queen and the story ended with her Happily Ever After."

Raven chuckles turned a little bitter. She sighed. "She was never really satisfied. With anything."

Eddy shrunk at the bitter tone that Raven took, frowning deeply. He shrugged, putting on a casual smile as he walked past the two. "Can't be that good if she got caught." This caused another fit of startled laughter to come from Raven, causing her smile to be just a tiny bit more genuine. "Look, let's just head to the items shop. Forget I asked anything. I'll look up everything else on the internet. I mean, it's there for a reason."

Raven seemed to relax at the change in topic and sent a grateful smile to Eddy. "Yeah. It's not far from here, so I'll be sure to get you some discounts if you buy anything there."

"Definitely appreciate it." He nodded and they started to move again. Though, he couldn't help but think over what Apple said one final time.

_My mother said she worked perfectly as the evil queen._

He sent a quick look Apple's way, eyes narrowing a bit. She and Raven were roommates, right? And she was the daughter of Snow White, the Evil Queens nemesis? They didn't really act like they were life-long enemies or anything. They weren't friends either, but that was a given.

...Was White trying to make sure her story stuck to the letter by checking up on dear old Raven?

Eddy felt his eyes narrow as he felt _just_ a little respect (and a ton of suspicion) slip in.

Clever girl. A v_ery _clever girl.

* * *

Double D wasn't exactly sure what he had signed himself up for but debating the merits of considering a tomato a fruit or a vegetable was not it. It was keeping everyone occupied while they headed to the nearest technology/computer store, but he was a little surprised when they started to argue about it like typical teenagers.

Though, he couldn't say it wasn't a somewhat _interesting_ debate considering he hadn't expected either girl's argument.

"I mean, it's accepted as a vegetable. You wouldn't put them in fruit salad, right?" Cerise said casually, sipping on her milkshake. She'd taken up the side of social acceptance and just simply sticking with the commonly accepted idea.

Maddie, surprisingly, went with facts and figures.

"But it starts out as a _flower_." Maddie responded. "It even has seeds in it, making it a fruit. Even in Wonderland it's considered a fruit, especially compared to inedible or murderous plants we call fruits." She wasn't stating it matter-of-factly, or even argumentatively, she was simply just participating in the conversation. It would have been easier to take her seriously if she wasn't shifting through her hat, pulling out whatever object she was looking for. "It has to be around here somewhere..."

It reminded Double D of bickering with Eddy or Ed, except it was a lot more polite.

"Hey, Double D, got any opinion on this?" Cerise asked, finishing off the rest of her shake and throwing it in the garbage. After it landed in the bin, she gave him a questioning look. "Usually we have Raven settle this, but she isn't here."

"Yes!" Maddie moved her arm around the back of Double D's neck and pulled him down to eye level. "Settle this for us, New Raven! Give your final verdict."

"Uh," The boy blinked at the hyper girl slowly, unsure how he was dragged into the conversation. He made a quick reply. "By all counts, Maddie is correct."

Cerise raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?"

"Yes." Double D untangled himself from the pink girls grasp and stood up straight. Analytical brain in overdrive, he thought it over. "Quite honestly, the tomato scientifically has all the criteria to be considered a fruit. Like Ms. Hatter, tomatoes are usually flowers grown above ground and have seeds. Vegetables are grown underground usually, pretty much considered the roots of most plants."

He could see Cerise nodding along, but her attention was beginning to wane. Double D felt and eyebrow twitch upwards. Couldn't have that now, could he?

"Of course," He smiled, but hid it before it could become a smirk. "Vegetables are technically not a real thing when it comes to botanical science."

Cerise seemed to stop and blink at him, along with earning a curious, amused glance from Maddie. "Excuse me?" The hooded girl asked, looking put out.

Double D shrugged and necessarily didn't meet her eye. "Vegetables is a term that usually deals in food and is primarily a culinary term. There's no real connection to botany, in all respects."

He couldn't help but smugly feel the confusion radiate from the hooded girl, though he saw Maddie light up a bit.

"Vegetable are a social construct! I knew it!" The girl laughed to herself as the other two looked at her in baffled amusement, watching her skip along. When she suddenly stopped and pulled off her hat and reached into it, they paused to hear the rattle of various items shifting about in there.

"I'm still not sure how you're able to do that." Double D watched as Maddie meticulously moved _something _within the confines of her hat. He felt an eye twitch. "Then again, magic is a very confusing topic overall."

Cerise snorted. "Yeah, trust me, it only gets more confusing from here. It powers everything around here, though, so it's something you might have to get used to."

"She's got a point." She pulled out what he believed to be a toy rabbit, something which she casually dropped back in. "Magic is a way of life. Who knows, maybe on of your friends will start messing with magic."

Double D felt his eye twitch once again, this time letting out a fearful squeak. He couldn't help but picture Eddy surrounded by blue flames, laughing maniaclly. "Well, that's going to be in my nightmare tonight."

The two girls laughed, causing him to blush. Though, Cerise did give him a good-natured slug on the arm, still chuckling to herself. "Look," She started, giving him a once over. "I'm sure you'll get used to it pretty quickly. Your friend there got used to Apple fawning over all of us and Raven almost blowing up a science textbook, something tells me you'll get used to magic pretty quickly."

"It's true! Magic in Wonderland is quite different compared to Ever After magic. The same goes for certain types of magic Monsters use." Maddie picked out a trio of colorful balls, which she launched up into the air. She put her hat back up on her head before catching each one and started to juggle them.

"It was hard to figure out the difference between each one, but knowing them later helped balance things out perfectly" She kicked each ball up in the air before turning to look at the other two, pulling off her hat and catching them with it. "Until then, you'll have to adapt."

"Besides," Cerise added, elbowing the boy with smirk on her face. "If it gets too weird for you, think of it like this; magic is a social construct."

Double D felt _some _of his worries soothed. Though, he would certainly take his time studying the whole thing, he at least would plan to get used to it.

He had to if he wanted to survive.

"I'll try to think of it that way." He said, giving a nervous, but placated smile. God, this was a strange conversation.

Enjoyable though.

As the conversation dulled into a comfortable silence, ever reaching close to the local tech store, Maddie stopped suddenly, looking up into the air pensively.

"If tomato is considered a fruit, does that make ketchup a smoothie."

The other two groaned loudly.

* * *

Ed knew he wasn't the brightest bulb and would never pretend to be.

However, living with a near genius like Double D and a scam artist like Eddy did teach him when something was an obvious con.

"I highly doubt that this is safe." He said, kicking at the wooden house in front of him. It was built high and narrow, even though it was pretty close to the border. "We kinda need something that won't burn. And doesn't look like it has bugs in it, even if they are cool looking." He noted the obvious bites within the wood. It looked _way _too big to be simple termites.

"There's not exactly a prime selection here." Cleo De Nile was typing away at her phone furiously, looking through any remaining properties. "Not a lot of people are willing to work near the border on either side, so not a lot of upkeep."

Cleo made a note that Ed _maybe_ wasn't as dumb as she initially thought. He'd actually been pretty judicious when it came to looking for a workshop, considering she'd thought that he'd be satisfied by anything. Ghoulia said he had some criteria that his friends set up, so maybe that was it.

_"Yeah, well, there has be one place that isn't ready to fall apart." _Ghoulia stated nonchalantly, looking over the structure herself. _"I do have to say, it sounds like your friends would have plenty of work renovating the surrounding buildings."_

"Or destroying them." Ed laughed as he walked away closer towards the border. "That's our specialty."

"Great, just what we need, a property risk." Cleo shook her head. She could hear some light snickering coming from Clawdeen, causing her to turn back roughly. "Any comment you'd like to make, Wolf."

"None." The werewolf moved past the mummy, clicking on here phone. "Just saw something on my iCoffin. Moving on."

The undead girl let out a frustrated growl before moving ahead, catching up with her. Ed and Ghoulia, a little ways ahead of them, noticed the two about to start an upcoming argument. Ed raised an eyebrow and sent a look the zombie's way.

"Are they always like this?" He jerked his head at the two, though did his best not to look behind him. Ghoulia sighed, shoulders drooping.

_"Not always."_ She signed, frown growing on her face. _"They used to be pretty good friends up until a little while ago. Of course, you probably can't tell due to their childish behavior."_

Ed quickly looked back to notice the werewolf and the mummy arguing in a quiet, but vicious fashion. "Kinda reminds me of my friends arguing to be honest." He whispered conspiratorally to the zombie. This earned him a snicker.

_"I wouldn't necessarily say that to Cleo's face. She might assume you're comparing her to Eddy."_

"She'd be the one saying it, not me."

Ghoulia felt her mood improve a little bit as Ed gave a goofy grin. Her face was still set in a frown however.

"Any reason why they started fighting like this?"

The question caused her to jump- well, as much as she could- and quickly look behind her. When she noticed that neither ghoul had stirred, she gave him a sideways glance. _"You sure you want to know?"_

"Yeah." Ed said, not really getting the serious tone in her voice.

She sighed softly before mulling it over. The zombie looked over the boy carefully before asking a question. _"You wouldn't happen to have a sibling, correct?"_

There was a small dip in his smile, something she filed for later. However, his small came back, if only slightly strained. "Yeah. Little sister. Still living with Mom and Dad right now."

She nodded, deciding not to remark on the clipped language. _"Clawdeen has several siblings. One of them is Clawd, her older brother. A nice monster, if I say so myself. You two would get along."_

"That's good." Ed said, smile becoming genuine once again.

_"Up until a couple of months ago, he and Cleo had been dating for a while. No one knew why they were together, but everyone agreed that they were a cute couple for a while."_

"That's also good."

Ghoulia shook her head. _"Then, for reasons nobody knew, they decided to break up."_

Ed winced. "That's bad."*

_"The break-up was honestly the least worrying thing about the situation to be completely honest." _The zombie continued, not really hearing Ed. _"It was honestly the most mature one you could expect out of a high school relationship. It probably would have fizzled out and everyone would've forgotten about it."_

"And?" Ed's question wasn't impatient, though it was expectant.

_"Cleo started to date someone else a week later."_

Ed winced pretty hard at that, letting out a slight groan. "That really had to hurt. Poor Clawd."

_"Actually, he took it pretty well. Supported their relationship instantly and without a problem. Deuce Gorgon (the guy) are actually good friends. It was almost like he knew." _Ghoulia thought back to the moment, remembering someone else's reaction. _"It was Clawdeen that was hurt by it. Werewolves _hate _disloyalty."_

"Huh." He stared off into space for a few seconds, digesting it all. He eventually just shook his head. "I'd suggest waiting for now. Seen a couple of bad fights myself and they'll work things out eventually."

The zombie raised an eyebrow. _"You sound pretty confident about that."_

"Trust me." He let a frown cross his face slowly, looking up into the air with a pensive face. "Eddy and Double D have their own share of fights. One time, me and Eddy did a pretty bad prank that made Double D scared out of his mind and they got into an argument. Punched each other pretty hard too." The memory played out in his mind, word for word. "They made up not long after, but if it was any worse, we wouldn't still be friends. I'm sure something will happen with those two."

Ghoulia stayed silent, thinking carefully. She supposed he had some merit, but it had been months already. They would've gotten over things by now right. In the end, she just sighed and gave him a look. _"You're certainly smarter then you pretend to be, aren't you?"_

"Kinda. I suck at math and history though." Ed replied seriously. This caused him to earn a laugh, which he smiled at. Looks like he got her out of her funk.

Their conversation was interrupted as Cleo moved past them, still on her iCoffin. "Sorry to bother you two, but I think I may have found something. Just take a left here and we should be there."

Ed nodded along and moved ahead. Making the turn, he stopped and looked at something within the distance, tilting his head to the side. He looked thoughtful, adding something up in head. As the ghouls caught up to him, he looked to Cleo.

"You think I can get a look inside?"

* * *

"You sure the place is good, Ed? I mean, it looks fine, but..." Eddy scrolled through the pictures on Ed's iCoffin, scrutinizing them carefully. The place didn't look half bad, but that didn't mean there wasn't anything under the surface.

"Of course it's fine. I mean, doesn't it look cool!?" He pointed at some of the photos in it. "I mean, we'd normally have to buy this stuff separately, and it's all _on _the border. I got what you asked for!"

"That is true, Eddy." Double D flicked through the pictures on his own iCoffin. He was impressed at what their friend at found and would happily dive into within the next few days. "We'll make sure to check everything first, but I think we lucked out when it comes to some of the amenities it provides."

"Fine." Eddy clicked off the photo's section and gave the phone back to Ed. "Least we crossed some stuff off our list. Any idea on what you guys want for clothes?"

"Clawdeen said to send in designs whenever we can, that way she can get started as soon as possible." Double D put down his own phone and sighed. "A very productive, if somewhat eventful, day. We'll most likely have plenty of those in the near future."

"I think we did pretty good." Ed laid on his back, looking at the ceiling. "I mean, we made some awesome friends too! Never really thought we could do that."

"Yeah, that isn't sad at all." Edd groaned, joining Ed as he laid down on the bed. "I still don't trust that Apple girl. Who the heck is that nice without an ulterior motive, anyway? And not to mention Queenie."

"Well, you'll just have to get over it, old chum. They've helped us plenty so far, so the least we can do is be friendly at every opportunity." Double D laid down on the opposite bed as well. He felt a little tired at all of the walking around and making deals downtown. He'd have to do the same in New Salem too, something he didn't look forward to. "We've still got word to do as well. Remember, we now have to come up with a monster form for Ed at some point."

"We'll put it on the top of the list." The short Ed boy waved off the concern. He yawned, as if to exaggerate his next point. "I'd say that we did plenty tonight. I just want to go to sleep."

"Sounds good." Ed grabbed a pillow and headed straight for the couch. "Goodnight guys. See ya' tomorrow."

The other boys exchanged their own good nights, moving under the covers. After things were settled and the boys were comfortable, Eddy opened his eyes.

"Hey guys?"

"Yes, Eddy?" Double D said tiredly.

"How do you feel about me learning magic?"

Double D would fail to get any sleep that night.

* * *

***It's an old bit, I think. It'll probably be lost on you guys since I didn't execute it that well.**

**It's always hard to find a way to end a chapter, don't you think? That's always the biggest problem with me on my fics so far. I also think I'm failing to get Ed's characterization right and sometimes get him to be OOC. Though, if I had to defend myself, he is a teenager in this fic, and you can't help but get smarter if you're with a con artist and a genius, so he's gotten a little smarter and wiser. I'll try to be more true to his character, but since there will be some angsty moments, some liberties have to be taken.**


	6. 6 Hanging Out

**Alright, this chapter finally introduces some people to each other and brings out interactions between previously unmet parties. Hopefully, for the Ed's sake, they won't mess this up somehow. Enjoy!**

* * *

It was after a few days of intense research, cultural binging, and setting up the workshop that the boys would admit to one thing; this scam of theirs was going to simultaneously easy and extremely difficult.

One the one hand, the research into the history and culture of both schools showed that while Humans, Monsters, and Legends were somewhat separated, they were still intertwined. Many historical events in the world were connected to the supernatural somehow, with some being influenced or directly caused by some element. Cultural norms were also somewhat universal, meaning that they wouldn't have any trouble dealing with manners or social cues until they landed themselves into very specific situations.

(Double D almost had a seizure when he figured out that Abraham Lincoln was a vampire-hunter-turned-vampire, but Ed and Eddy were able to calm him down.)*

On the other, there was plenty of pop culture that they would have to gloss over before the month is over, leading to them having to watch popular movies, know certain slang pertaining to both races, and catch up on memes nearly over night. While some pop culture instances were insanely close to some things in the human world (some which Eddy even claimed were practically plagiarized), knowing the differences between them was key. While they could claim ignorance for a while, if they didn't eventually acclimate to it, they would get caught.

There was also the matter of actually making themselves _seem _supernatural as well, leading to their current project.

The three boys worked silently, a MirrorPhone playing music as they moved throughout the room. Double D moved about, tightening up screws and bolts, followed shortly by Eddy checking on the state of the machinery as a whole. Meanwhile, Ed improved on the design slowly, checking for any imperfections on the leather and paint that would cover the exterior.

Finishing up the final touches, the boys started to connect the two separate pieces, carefully putting them together so there wouldn't be any malfunctions. Once they were satisfied, the dark green cloth on the machine fitting perfectly. The smart Ed boy picked up a clipboard, going over the list of objectives for the project.

"Engineering check is done." He mumbled to himself, circling the device. Looking over the cloth for imperfections, he checked another objective off the list. "Disguise check is also done. Moving on to the testing phase."

"Finally!" Ed ran over to a table, grabbing a small piece of back armor from the table before heading towards the device. Slipping off his trench coat, he put the armor on before moving into the center of the device. Moving his hands into metal gloves, he squeezed them with glee apparent on his face.

The machine moved around him, surrounding Ed and moving into a familiar shape. The cloth tightened, appearing to be skin as a head, body, and tentacles formed to create a monstrous appearance. Horns on top of its head, fabricated scales stretching carefully over machinery, and fake eyes blinked slowly as everything began to boot up. The tentacles rose at Ed's command.

Eddy shuffled his feet as he watched all of this. 'Edzilla' was back in business.

"Alright, it looks like things are working at an acceptable level." Double D noted every movement of the tentacles and the new head, noting the clamps on the end of each tentacle opening and closing themselves slowly. "Everything is working at a modest ten-foot height. Will have to check on the twenty-foot form later."

"Hey, Lumpy, you hear me in there?!" Eddy yelled, catching the attention of the head. It nodded, signifying that Ed was in full control. He had to make it crouch so that it wouldn't hit the ceiling of the garage but was doing just fine with moving and adjusting the fake body. Eddy couldn't help but note that as Ed tried to make it smile that some parts of the mouth twitched. "Emotes aren't working so well, but Ed can hear me in there. Gonna' have to work on that when we have the chance."

"Noted." Scribbling it in, Double D looked into the head's eyes. "Okay, it seems that almost everything is at an optimal level, Ed. Now, we need you to try out the enchantment on the armor. You remember how it works, right?"

A claw was waved at the question accompanied by a nod. Ed went still for a second before the machine became surrounded by shadows. As it engulfed the machine, it slowly dissipated it as, flowing backward as it moved, showing Ed with a concentrated look on his face. The shadows soon flowed into the armor on his back until it was only him there.

Looking around himself, he raised his hands up in victory. "A complete success!" He did a little victory dance, much to the amusement of his friends, laughing all the while.

It was a good sign that their first invention in the new workshop worked perfectly.

Ed really did pick out something good, even if the two had their doubts. They had a nice clean front office that would be used to host clients, a small back office done for business, with the other half of the building as an open space for projects. They could probably put in several cars here and still have some wiggle room for side projects if need be. A basement big enough to house a lab (along with more discreet experiments) was also something they hadn't thought of until he showed it to them. It did have to be fixed up in some places, with some structure damage and electrical wiring being messed up, but it wouldn't take that much time to fix it all up.

Though, a little doubt did trickle in Eddy's mind even if the experiment was a success. "You sure Ed's going to be able to handle this? Last time we gave him that costume, we ended up having to get the Chunky Puff's smell out of our clothes for a week."

"Don't remind me." Double D shivered, keeping an eye on Ed as he put his coat back on. "However, I do believe that he is mature enough to deal with the responsibility now." His friend still had an apprehensive look on his face, prompting him to add an extra detail. "I also made sure we can remotely turn off the suit if he gets out of control." This appeased the short Ed for now.

"So, I guess we'll be focusing on what we do for ourselves." Eddy said. Ed had moved into the group talk, still smiling all the while. "Got any ideas for us, Ed?"

Ed shrugged. "I don't know. Double D doesn't really need a disguise right now, and I thought you were going for magic."

Eddy's demeanor physically sagged at the reminder. "Yeah, trust me, I've been messing with that all I can. The books on it are confusing as heck and there's the whole 'no magical core' thing I gotta' work with."

At Ed's confused look, Double D explained, flipping the papers on the clipboard to some of Eddy's notes. "A magical core is a trait some Legends and Monsters have where they can call upon some force within themselves that extends into various forms of magical power. They generally vary from one to another, either through some form of species difference. For example; fairies and dark fairies, despite originating from some ancestral points, have very different methods for their magic."

"They're also genetic, so they vary from person to person." Eddy continued, frustration mounting. He anxiously moved onto the balls of his feet, frowning deeply. "Since I don't have any magical people in my family or something, that means I can't _use _magic at all. Which is just so _annoying_."

"I don't understand why you're so obsessed with this." Double D shook his head, glancing at the books lined up at one table. While most of them consisted of subjects he was looking into, some of the ones relating to magic were ones Eddy had thumbed through himself. "From what we studied, not every Monster or Legend has a magical core or even uses magical objects all that much. We only got Ed's storage armor because we fixed up the shop owners air conditioning. You could settle with studying magical artifacts if you're that curious."

Eddy rolled his eyes. "You don't get it."

"What's not to get?" Ed asked, not understanding what was going on. Didn't Eddy have the easiest way to disguise himself? It seemed like it to him.

"Look," Eddy rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting their eyes. "Thing is here, I'm kinda at a disadvantage. Sockhead, you have the whole 'confidential information' deal and you can just invent stuff anytime you want. Hell, I saw some plans of you were considering for your 'disguise'." The boy in question moved nervously at that. "Even if Ed didn't have the suit, he'd probably pass off as a Monster with his freakish strength alone."

"And?" Double D raised an eyebrow, not expecting the conversation to take this turn. Eddy wasn't exactly the most open about his feelings.

"What I'm saying is, you guys can do cool stuff already that makes you impossible to touch." The short boy pointed to himself. "While I can talk the talk, it'll be weird if I can't actually _do_ anything particularly special. Magic seemed like a good way to make myself untouchable."

"I thought it was because you wanted to do stuff like blasting bad guys, with you going like 'pew, pew'!" Ed 'pewed' a few more times, causing Eddy to laugh.

"I mean, that too." He stopped laughing and sighed. "But I do need something that makes me 'special.' Otherwise, we're screwed."

The other two hummed in agreement. That was actually a good point. The more they could make their lies airtight, the better. Wiping out any doubts from people's minds would be in their best interests and in Bloodgood's as well.

To quote a movie; the best trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And they were the devil's in this case.

Not a very uplifting thought to be completely honest. But that was life now.

_**You can't win me,**_

_**I can't be beat.**_

_**I won't, hurt you,**_

_**Unless you cheat.***_

The ringtone startled them briefly, with Ed suddenly grabbing the iCoffin out of his pocket and clicking it. He smiled and had a cheery voice as he heard the voice on the other line.

"Ghoulia, what's up? We were just fixing up the garage." He said, chattering away with the zombie on the other line, his friends watching with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, seriously, how are you two the ones getting girls numbers?" Eddy looked at Double D accusatorily. "I mean, Ed gets the zombie and you get the werewolf's number, but I get squat!"

"Well, we have spent out time mostly working ourselves to near death." Double D put the clipboard down at a table and picked up another history book, turning to the page he'd left it on. "Though I did make sure to grab Cerise and Maddie's numbers before leaving them yesterday, while they also gave me Apple's and Raven's. Mostly in case we're in need of future reference information."

"What?!"

Double D chuckled as he heard Eddy frothing at the mouth behind him. "I can give you some of them if you want. Though, I would suggest that you only contact them if you have any questions about anything."

"I don't need your pity." The short Ed boy waved the offer away. He plopped down into a chair and put his feet onto the table. "Who knows, maybe I'll even get a girlfriend this year."

"Considering how we need to make sure our identities are hidden, I wouldn't suggest doing that." The hatted boy shifted through the pages, finding any new information he could. He was moving on to World War II, he believed.

Eddy huffed but offered no response to that. He could live with that. It was them against the world, right? They didn't need anyone else as far as he was concerned.

Just like always.

"Hey, guys!" Ed shouted, moving towards them. He waved the phone, catching their attention as talked. "Ghoulia wanted to see if we could hang out. Wanted to check how things were going for us."

Eddy gave a quick look to Double D, raising his eyebrows. "Anything against making some friends?" He asked cheekily, a smug grin on his face.

Grumbling, Double D responded by rolling his eyes. "It is one of our objectives, I suppose." That, and they did need to present a facade of 'normality' while they were here. Of course, this caused an idea to spring to the forefront. "If you don't mind, do you think we could bring some friends from Ever After? I've only talked to them on and off throughout the past few days and it might be good to check up on them."

He could see Eddy straighten out of the corner of his eye at that one. Though, he focused more on Ed nodding and moving away from the group as he went back to talking with Ghoulia.

"Why do we need to invite them? I mean, some of them are cool and all, but I don't think half of them will want to hang out with Monsters." Eddy said lazily, looking at the ceiling.

"That's because they're our _classmates,_ Eddy. Besides, Headmistress Bloodgood did want us to start uniting the schools together. This will set up some building blocks for her to work with in the time being." The smart Ed boy pulled out his own MirrorPhone and moved around some things on his digital schedule. He sent a brief side eye to his friend. "Not to mention you need to get over your irrational mistrust of Ms. White."

"She rigged the housing up so she would get a room with the girl who is supposed to be her _enemy_!" Edd waved his arms in the air incredulously. "How does not ring any alarms for you?"

"I can't say that it isn't strange that she would try something like that, but it's not our place to judge. It could be that she wants to have a good working relationship with her in the future." Double D put down the phone and turned to face his friend. "And need I remind you that one of our stipulations while here was to make powerful friends? I would think someone born into royalty would be a powerful friend indeed."

Eddy groaned and rubbed his hands down his face. He sighed and nodded, as if to convince himself he was fine with this situation. "Okay. We'll go for it." He moved out of his previous position, putting his arms and head on the table. "If anything goes wrong though, I'm the one that gets to say I told you so."

"Fair enough." Double D sat back into his chair, satisfied when the conversation ended. That was one problem out of the way.

"Hey guys, would either of you be okay with Cleo coming along?"

Feeling Eddy bristle behind him without needing to look, he figured another problem would have to be dealt with.

* * *

Cleo would claim that she wasn't one to complain, but she was self-aware enough not to make that declaration. However, Ghoulia did put a form of gag order on her not to say anything horribly derisive for now.

However, the longer she sat here under the too bright lights and a cavalcade of colors that considered itself a coffee shop, the more she could feel a headache forming.

It had started out innocently enough, with Ghoulia inviting her out for undisclosed reasons. Naturally, the zombie failed to mention that Clawdeen would be here as well.

Not to mention those three lunatics that decided to join the school.

And several Legends.

There really needed to be some more honesty in this relationship.

"So," The red one (Apple, she figured) started, messing with the coffee cup in her hands and attempting to make eye contact. To the Legends credit, she'd been polite and held herself with poise that many of Cleo's peers failed to have. Her friends were friendly as well, but she'd gravitated towards someone who looked to be the least frustrating.

"If you have a question, Princess, I'd ask Queenie before she blows a fuse."

Then there was this guy.

"I'd answer the question if you'd let her ask it." Cleo looked pointedly at Eddy, who smiled in a way that reeked of sarcasm. "Maybe if you bothered to listen to anyone, you'd actually learn something." She really wished the boy with the hat hadn't made the seating arrangements. Why he set them up like this, she would never know.

"I'd put in the effort if what you're saying is actually interesting." He said smugly. The only response to her glare was more snickering on his part. Apple didn't seem to know what to do as she watched them banter, but she attempted to move forward in the conversation despite the downward spiral of the conversation.

"Um," She forced herself not to flinch as their focus drifted to her. "You mentioned that you were a princess, correct? I mean, of a far different era, sure." Apple really wasn't sure how to move this conversation forward, if she was completely honest. "I was wondering if you had any real advice on the matter of running a kingdom. I mean, they might not completely comparable..."

She quieted down after Cleo raised a manicured hand. "I appreciate the question, but there isn't much I can give you on that. I was the second born child, so I wasn't the one groomed to take the throne." She stirred the liquid inside her cup, the smell of decaf accompanying the statement. "Plus, the rules were quite different thousands of years ago."

"Right," Eddy shifted a bit at the admission. His expression didn't really portray any mirth at the situation. "Forgot that you were older than everyone here. Or this building." He'd have to ask a few questions on the whole immortality thing. It wasn't that appealing to him now, but it wouldn't be bad to have some options down the line. "How old are you anyway?"

"First of all, it's rude to ask a lady that." Looking him over, Cleo narrowed her eyes. "Though I'm not surprised someone like you doesn't know that type of courtesy." Looking over at Apple, she continued. "I do have some experience when it comes to dealing with public appearances and royal events. Though, it appears you do as well."

"Started learning since I was a baby." The princess looked to the ceiling in thought before sighing. "I have to admit though that it is really tiring sometimes. Luckily, I like a lot of the aspects of it, but it can run you down if you let it."

The pharaoh's daughter frowned but nodded along. "Understandable. Several royal families from around my time still exist and it gets tiring to posture at the right times, pretend to believe in the right things." She sipped her coffee. Legends apparently liked their coffee sweet here. "It's all a little annoying, to tell the truth."

"They're politicians, what do you expect them to do? Tell you how you really feel?" Eddy said sardonically. His input caused them to jump. "I mean, that's how the world works. People lie all the time. Especially if they're close to you."

"I don't." Apple protested, caught off guard by Eddy laughing at that. "I really don't! I try to be as honest as possible while remaining polite. That's how a princess is supposed to do it."

"Then you and I have had very different teachers." Cleo said wistfully. While she mentally agreed with Eddy, though she wasn't going to say it. His ego was inflated enough as it is.

_Especially if they're close to you._

...Hm. File that line for later when she had the patience to figure that out. It might even turn out to be good blackmail material for later.

She also made a mental note; don't explicitly trust Apple. She was as sweet as her namesake and that was truly suspicious.

Then again, who could trust a Legend on their word anyway?

_Meanwhile…_

At a table for four, Maddie watched the interaction with a pair of opera glasses firmly placed against her face. "It looks like everything is going well over there. No one's trying to kill each other."

"Kinda cruel to put them at the same table. Feel pretty sorry for blondie over there." Clawdeen raised an eyebrow, keeping an eye on Cleo's annoyed expression. She honestly expected Eddy and her to throw hands at each other ten seconds into their first conversation, but she had to give the mummy some credit for her rare show of patience.

"I kinda get it." Cerise sipped her iced coffee slowly, posture casual as she watched the show. "Got to send in a sacrificial lamb to the slaughter in order to keep the peace."

"I feel guilty enough as it is, please stop reminding me." Double D sighed as he fidgeted nervously in his seat. He was overlooking some blueprints again, ignoring the fact he was literally sitting with three girls and his friends being too far away to be used as a buffer. It was probably something he would have to get used to, though it was going to nerve wracking until then. "I figured that maybe they could resolve their differences if they just hashed out things in a more casual environment."

"You sure that'll work?" Clawdeen asked raising an eyebrow.

"No, but at least Apple might prevent things from escalating. That's why I arranged the seating like this."

"You sure it wasn't because you wanted to hang out with three cute girls like us?" Maddie said jokingly, giving a little wink. She laughed as she saw Double D choke on his drink.

"She's got a point there." Clawdeen wiggled her eyebrows, causing Double D to blush further and put his head gently down on the table. This caused her to snicker and give a light kick to the boy's shin. "Just messing with you. I get it, but damn does she look uncomfortable right now."

Cerise figured the poor nerd needed some form of mercy before he lost his head. Attempting to look over the guy's blueprints, she could see a mess of numbers and other things she didn't necessarily want to understand. "What are you working on, anyway? Looks like something out of a comic book."

"It's an invention I want to finish before the school year begins." Double D looked over them again, changing a few minute details every few seconds. "I suppose you could call it as what'll make sure I 'fit in,' so to speak."

"Monster High isn't all about fitting in, you know." Clawdeen clacked her claws against the table. "It's about standing out. I mean, sure, some Monster aren't gonna' fully trust you at first for the whole 'two schools' thing, but they'll get over it pretty fast."

Cerise winced as she noticed Double D's face sour a bit at the mention of that. She figured it would be good to speak up. "He doesn't have to do that if he doesn't want to. I mean, blending in has its own advantages. I definitely don't want people watching me all the time."

"Both good points," The boy said carefully, making sure their attention was caught. "But I think I'll decide on what I'm willing to show for the time being. Can't play all my cards at once."

"He's right. Wonderland is famous for its card games so have to be careful how you play." Maddie said, then leaning in to whisper. "You'd be surprised how many of our trials end in card games. Prosecutors and lawyers get really serious about it."

The other two at the table blinked at the pink girl, who only moved to take a look at the blueprints herself. "Looks like something a Spiderman villain would use."

"Thank you." The hatted boy said gratefully, moving it so she could get a better look. The werewolf and the hooded girl gave each other a look, shrugged, and moved along with the conversation.

"Speaking of designs, do you and your friends have any idea on what you want for clothes? I can't really start until I know what you want." Clawdeen casually asked. Double D slid over several papers to her, which she picked up, critical eye already scanning over them. She raised an eyebrow at some of the choices but nodded.

"Might have to make some adjustments on some stuff, but it looks like a start. I'll run them by you first, but you guys do have an eye for design." She looked over the one related to Ed, squinting her eyes. "Ed's looks a little plain though. Could do with something a little more out there."

Cerise took a glance and gave a small frown. Fashion wasn't her strong suit, but she still had her own sense of style to look out for. "Maybe adding some kind of wild element would be cool?" The suggestion didn't come out as confident as she would've liked, but the anxiety was assuaged when Clawdeen actually smiled a little and looked her in the eye.

"Be careful, I might actually start to like you." She said it in a way that made her smile back, though she attempted to hide it under her cool persona.

Though, if anyone could agree on one thing here, it was that the feeling was mutual between all parties.

_At another, semi-chaotic table..._

_"Ed, are you sure that the base is supported enough? I don't believe we've used the right number of toothpicks in order to keep standing for very long."_

"I'm sure it's fine. Just gotta' put a few more around here, maybe some there..."

"I really don't know why we're doing this."

The last one to speak was Raven, who was watching as the two in front of her were attempting to finish up the impromptu toothpick recreation of the Empire State Building. Or Vampire State Building. It was honestly lost in translation to her as she watched the boy stand on his seat, putting the final touches whatever he was making.

_"Apparently this is to create some form of group bonding. At least, that's how Double D phrased it."_ Ghoulia had begun typing into a text-to-voice app on her phone after figuring out a good amount of the Legends didn't know sign language; much less zombie speaks. _"As for what Ed's doing, I'm not entirely sure why. Very entertaining though." _Raven couldn't help but nod along with the zombie and watch as Ed kept his tongue out and put another stick up into slowly growing structure.

"Seems like he knows what he's doing." She handed off some more of the toothpicks. "Though, I don't think this type of stuff is going to exactly bring us closer. I mean, sitting around and talking is nice, but I think Cerise and Maddie would like some action."

"Yeah, I totally get it. Eddy's getting antsy." Ed gave a brief look to said boys table, watching as Eddy was physically holding himself back from retorting to whatever Cleo had said. "You find anything to do, Ghoulia?"

_"There are reports of a castle nearby that hasn't been explored yet."_ The zombie said, tapping away at the iCoffin screen. _"No reason was stated as to why it was abandoned, but there might be something to look over while we're there."_

"Seems like a major step-up." Raven gave the best smile she could, struggling to come up with something to say. Only Maddie and Cerise were comfortable talking to her, so having two other people just casually talking to her like it was nothing was strange. Stick to something normal, Queen, something they can count on. "Any plans for the upcoming year?"

_"Nothing much, to be quite honest. I'm already getting prepared for this year's Mad Science Fair and coming up with some projects that will capture the judge's attention."_ Ghoulia shrugged along with it, though the Legend couldn't help but feel a tad bit intimidated. She did science fairs for fun? She was either really good at science or just extremely confident in herself.

"I'm just planning to survive." Ed said vaguely. "Don't really know what the Eddy and Double D are planning, but I'm probably going with them on stuff."

Raven nodded nervously, tapping the table with earnest. "I don't know either. Not a lot going on this year, so I'll probably just hang out with Maddie for the semester."

_"Isn't the Book of Legends signing supposed to happen this year?" _The zombie winced internally as she saw the other girl's expression turn sour. _"Touchy subject?"_

"No, it's just..." The future queen sighed, sinking into her chair. "I'm not exactly looking forward to it. Lot of expectations for me when I sign it and none of them are anything I'm eager to fulfill."

"Evil queen stuff?" Ed asked. He slowed in his work, being more critical of each toothpick's placement. He made minor adjustments as he went, just some minor tweaks.

"That's right." She sank into her chair even further, watching him silently as he moved. "That stuff hasn't really made me a lot of friends in the past- surprising, I know - so I'm not exactly looking forward to it this year, ceremony or not."

Ghoulia nodded along, though she obviously couldn't relate. She still tried to extend an olive branch out to the girl in front of her. _"Well, maybe after getting the story over with, people might just leave you alone? I mean, isn't it supposed to be a role you play and just that?"_

Raven frowned. "If only it was that simple."

"If everything was simple, we wouldn't be here. And _that_ would be horrible." The two looked up in surprise as the boy made another vague remark. Ed said, putting the final touches on the project. Sliding into his chair, he smiled proudly at the monstrosity he created. "Ok, now I'll just take a picture and-"

Before he could finish, the door to the café opened up suddenly, when a dude with a goatee slid on in, strumming guitar loudly and shouting.

"What's up everybodyyyyyy!"

Ed let out only a single tear as the toothpick building collapsed and Eddy threw his coffee at the visitor in a panic.**

* * *

"Well," Apple said tentatively, keeping a steady pace as she watched Eddy mumble to himself and Double D rubbing Ed's back in a comforting way. They had made it a good distance into the Enchanted Forest before she had decided to speak up, attempting to breach the tense silence among them. "At least you got to meet Sparrow Hood."

"Yeah, he did a real good job of introducing himself while he was screaming. Nice job aiming for the face, by the way." Cleo remarked to Eddy, who just gave a glare back. "It was especially impressive when he tried flirting with everyone while we were treating his burns."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Cerise rolled her eyes, sighing in disgust. "My cousin is nice and all when you get to know him, but that requires _getting _to know him."

"Would you be offended if I said I was sorry he was your cousin?" Clawdeen asked. All she got in response was a shrug from her, which she chuckled at softly.

"Look can we forget how I _may _have burned a guy's face. I feel guilty enough as it is." Eddy stomped forward, sending a quick glance to Ed. "You gonna' be alright there, Lumpy? Can't go exploring if you're gonna' be glum all day."

"I'll be fine." Ed sighed, his form conveying his depression. "Just really wish I at least got a picture before he opened the door."

_"Actually,"_ Ghoulia gave a smile as she showed something on her iCoffin. _"I was able to get one out before the sudden interruption. I've been told I have a sixth sense when it comes to situations like this."_

"Really?! Let me see!" Ed zipped over to her and looked at it, his demeanor doing a complete one-eighty. Everyone shook their heads at the sudden change, the Ed's doing so fondly.

"I'm guessing this is pretty normal for him?" Raven asked Eddy, raising an eyebrow.

"Define 'normal'." Eddy said with a laugh, rolling his eyes. He looked around himself briefly before settling into a more conversational tone. "I've actually been meaning to ask you something. Y'know, about magic."

Curiosity peaked, Raven raised an eyebrow and motioned him to continue.

"I've only seen you do it a couple of times, but how exactly do you use it? I mean, channeling it through yourself or something, not just how it feels."

This caused her to pause and give him a quick once over. "Are you really trying to get into magic?"

"Just humor me." He said, kicking at a lone rock. He sent a quick look up to her face with a pleading expression.

She sighed but decided to roll with it for the time being. Raven wasn't sure if he had a magical core to work with, but she couldn't fault him for being curious.

"It's like," She stopped, shaking her head softly. "Imagine how a rechargeable battery would feel being used and replenished all the time. Every time you put the batteries into something and use it, it'll slowly drain until there's not much else to squeeze out of it. Whenever that happens, it feels like you decided to run a marathon with none of the glory behind it.

"Of course, since they _are _rechargeable, that means they aren't useless when you use them." Raven wasn't sure about the metaphor at first, but it felt right to her now. "It can recharge, though you don't have to plug yourself up to anything. It'll eventually fill up until it's whole again, or at least as high as it can until you use it next time."

Eddy frowned. "_So_, it's a power source you draw energy from. Doesn't sound that complicated when you put it like that."

"It only gets complicated when you figure what you want to use the magic for. Things can get messy if you don't concentrate on the spell hard enough." She winced, as if the thought physically hurt her. "It's kind of the reason why so many enchanted items do mostly simple stuff and have only a small charge. Plenty of spell casters don't want to put in the effort to make a complicated enchantment that'll need to be recharged every once in a while."

"That's why I stick with cursed items."

Eddy jerked his head to Cleo, who had been filing her nails as she walked next to them. "This is a private conversation, y'know."

"Yes, but I happen to know a thing or two about cursed objects. Commissioned one a time or two as well." She flicked to nail file close to the boy's face, giving him a sneer. "I wouldn't turn down what I know. I'm rarely this generous."

The black-haired girl looked between the two, deciding to interrupt the possible argument before it got worse. "Any reason why you like cursed objects? I wouldn't think they're useful at all since, well, they're cursed."

"They are if you find a way to use them right." She went back to filing at her nails, making each perfectly even. "If there are thousands of loopholes in a business contract that people can exploit, the same could be said for the occasional troublesome medallion. You just have to find the right use for it."

"I was never a fan of cursed items to be honest. Usually when people make any of those, they really have to hate the person that they were willing to use it on." Raven shivered. "You spend so much effort and time into something, making it all your own, only to use it to ruin someone's life? That's honestly creepy."

Cleo shrugged, not bothered by the thought. "Like I said, even cursed items can be used constructively. Drawbacks can be dismissed by cursed items used in conjunction, shortcomings can be improved, and a cursed item never runs out of energy. Of course, having the right people helps as well." She laughed haughtily, causing Eddy to roll his eyes. He was about to make a snide comment but was intercepted by Double D shouting something.

"Hey!" The hatted boy shouted out to the people behind, pointing to something out in the distance. "I think I see the building from here."

Looking forward, the group saw a small sized castle out in the distance, not even fraction of the size of Ever After or Monster High. It looked as big as a standard office building, with the building blocks long rotten and having lost its previous shade of white. It had one stereotypical tower at its side, standing proud with vines reaching to its top, only a story or two higher than the rest of the building. Despite having one side crumbled, it stood proudly in its ruined glory.

"Alright, let's go! We're burning daylight!" Maddie said, jumping forward past the rest of the group. As they quickly tried to move forward to catch up with the mad girl, Eddy looked over at the castle again and frowned.

"Better have some good loot inside." He said walking closely behind as a pit in his stomach started to grow.

* * *

***The first is a reference to a book you will find absolutely insane, but is near and dear to my heart. The second reference is just more of my musical taste bleeding into the fic. Look up "Lemon Demon - Cabinet Man" and you'll know what I'm talking about.**

**Also, for people that are looking forward to heading for canon stuff, I have determined that the Prep Arc (as I call everything after the prologue) will be coming to an end relatively soon at Chapter Ten (whenever that may be). So rest assured, you won't have to wait long. I feel like adding this just in case anyone is starting to wonder. Either way, I'll see you all again in about two weeks with another chapter! It'll have a little more action to give a clue as to whats to come!**


	7. 7 Looting

**Hey everybody! Sorry this came out a day later than usual and it's not as polished. There's been some problems involving my job and I have to quit due to some stuff, so I'm in emotional hell right now. Already making applications and stuff to new places, so the job hunt shouldn't be as bad as last time. I was also sick for a couple of days, but I'm better now.**

**Hopefully ya'll enjoy this chapter and I'll talk to you after it ends. Enjoy!**

* * *

"So, any idea how to get in there? Anyone?"

Officially standing outside the ruin's grounds, the group of ten looked over the outside of the building, noticing the lack of a proper entrance. Eddy himself was wondering if climbing the walls would be a good idea if it wasn't for the fact that most of them were wearing heels.

"I have to ask; whose idea was it to come to some dilapidated castle in the middle of the Enchanted Forest? I'm pretty sure this type of thing is left to those 'knights' that are taught at Ever After." Cleo raised an eyebrow, tapping her foot impatiently.

"_It was mine, actually." _Ghoulia said, tapping into the text-to-voice app quickly. _"I figured that something like this would be a little less boring for those that crave more active hangouts. Plus, it would also encourage everyone here to work together."_

"This is also to put some action into the fic and keep the attention of the readers." Maddie moved to the large front door of the place, ignoring the incredulous looks as she looked it over. She knocked on the door, attempting to pull at a handle. After receiving no response, she turned to the rest. "I don't think we're getting inside the normal way."

"That obvious?" Eddy turned and started to walk the buildings perimeter. "The place is old enough, so there's probably some wall busted down or a broken window to crawl into. Old buildings have those all the time."

"Why do you know that?" Apple said, following close behind. The Eds looked at each other uncomfortably but didn't necessarily give her an answer.

"Hey, Ghoulia right?" Cerise asked, easing at the zombie's nod. "What exactly did you find on this place?"

"_Not much, to be honest. The adventuring website put up some information about some treasure, but none of it is substantiated by known proof."_ She clicked open the site where she found the coordinates. _"It seems a few adventurers have attempted to come here before, but either were called out to something better or left for lesser reasons. Figured that it would be nice to take it off the list for good."_

"Knowing Eddy, he'll love the treasure part." Double D kept his eyes open as they moved across the perimeter. No windows that they would fit into or reach without some reasonable climbing skill, as far as he could tell. "Well, depending on what definition of 'treasure' that article says."

Clawdeen rolled her eyes. "Don't tell Cleo about it. She might throw him out of one of those windows to get to it herself." This caused some laughter within the group, though it was slightly subdued after a questioning glare from Cleo silenced them. "Speaking of which, how long does it take to find an entrance to-"

"Found something!" Eddy suddenly piped up before moving into a large hole within the castle. Maniacal laughter could be heard as he moved in, sneakers hitting the cobblestone before his feet. "Better catch up before I call dibs on anything cool!"

"Wait up!" Ed ran on in as well before anyone could stop him. The rest shook their heads but joined on in much more coolly.

The inside of the place was remarkably well kept, despite the state of the outside. It looked like they had entered the dining hall, a large, wide open space that was sparsely populated by some furniture. Any signs of civilization were rare, but some chairs were scattered about as far as they could see, along with the occasional curtains covering the windows. Each one they could see had an insignia of a black bird, wings out and standing proud on a gnarled branch. Purple eyes lacking irises were seen glaring out to those who looked at it.

"Hey, Raven, look!" Apple moved to one of the curtains and stared at it closely, bouncing on the heels of her feet. "Isn't this one of your mother's old symbols?"

Said girl groaned at the realization, joining the blonde shortly. "I knew I recognized this stupid thing. Of course, my mom would put her label everywhere, it's her thing!" Raven grabbed the end of it and pulled it down roughly, coughing as dust fell onto her. She stared at the symbol hatefully. "This was probably one of her storage houses or something."

"I have to say, it's a very interesting family crest." Cleo looked it over. "Though, I can't help but feel like your mother was trying a bit too hard. If she's big and bad, then she most likely wouldn't need such garish decorations."

"You think _this_ is bad?" Raven laughed, folding up the offending article. "You would not want to see what my castle looked like before she was imprisoned. She _really _got into her role, in more ways than one." She frowned afterwards, looking around herself with an almost cautious expression on her face. "Though, if this is one of her castles, we should probably be careful. Mom was always fond of traps."

"Ha!" Eddy was striding confidently further into the dark dining hall. "Traps, shmaps. If she's willing to hide some stuff here and forget about it, it's her loss. We might as well get some treasure out of-"

The boasting was cut off by a loud growl, causing him to yelp and leap backwards into Ed's arms. The group made a stop as the something within the darkness opened its eyes, glowing yellow. It was soon joined by another pair, then another, followed quickly by several others until five pairs were floating, staring at the group warily. Everyone tensed, ready to run at a moment's notice as Eddy pulled out his MirrorPhone, cursing as he turned on its flashlight.

The sight before them was... more pitiable than they thought it would be.

What stood before them was a small pack of wolves, all of them relatively adults. With gray, dirty fur and piercing, yellow eyes, they would've given off the aura of intimidation most canines possess, if there weren't several other things that the teens noticed.

For one thing, they were packed up within a cage that was relatively small for their numbers, crowding them together so there was little room for them. Their expressions were pitiful, some of them more scared than hostile, huddling behind the bigger ones in their pack. There were even some signs of malnutrition, with a fair amount of the teens guessing some of these wolves hadn't eaten in days.

"Who the hell?!" Clawdeen sped past everyone, looking at the wolves with a critical eye. She growled. "I don't know who left these guys here, but they'll be hearin' from me before the days over!"

"A hunting party probably stopped here and left without them." Cerise joined the werewolf, trying to keep the anger out of her voice as well. "Must've left them here after noticing the Evil Queens royal crest everywhere. Idiots!" She looked over the cage and noticed the lock. "Could've at least them out before running away like cowards."

Getting over their shock, the group relaxed minutely, though everyone couldn't help but agree with the two. Maddie and Double D moved forward as well, but the wolves instinctively tensed and growled at them.

"Hey." Clawdeen said calmly, reaching out a hand to the caged animals. "They're friends. They're not going to hurt ya'." She frowned deeply, giving the Legend and human a look. "Not sure how you're gonna' help, but any suggestions would be nice."

"I can provide some food!" Maddie took off her hat, rummaging through her personal Hammerspace. "A good hostess never leaves home unprepared. I don't know if I have any meat for the little guys, but I do have plenty of water." She pulled out a jug and put it on the ground before going through her hat some more.

"I can pick the locks." Double D said. As he received some surprised glances from everyone, he shuffled his feet and looked down at the floor. "I figured it would be a good life skill to learn. I swear!"

"Okay, learn something new every day." Cerise said, blinking at that strange revelation. She turned to the werewolf. "Calm them down enough and I'll find them a place in the enchanted forest not far from here. They'll survive out there pretty easily as long as they're careful. I know a lot of the other packs in the area, but they're friendly enough."

Clawdeen nodded, petting one of the braver wolves. Maddie cautiously moved forward, pulling out several bowls and placing them near the side of the cage farthest from the lock. Filling them up with water, she placed some meat next to each one and moved back to give the animals some space.

As they lapped up at the water, Double D moved in quickly to the lock, pulling a hairpin out from under his hat. Looking over it closely, he put it in and deftly used his fingers to move the hairpin inside. A few moments of concentration later, the lock opened with a soft click. The boy grabbed it and moved it away, opening the door of the cage slowly. Backing away, he made sure to motion everyone else to make a path for the wolves.

After they were done eating, the pack noticed the open door and moved out slowly. Cerise moved beside them and gave a whistle, catching their attention. They sniffed at her for a second before she moved forward, leading them all out of the castle shortly. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as, moments later, Cerise came back inside with a happy look on her face.

"That went smoother than I thought it would." She said, moving towards the cage and giving it a kick. "Still want to find out who left them in this thing."

"They'll come back eventually and find them missing." Double D shook his head. He looked towards the group and smiled awkwardly. "Now that we've got that out of the way, does everyone want to continue?"

The group hesitantly nodded, moving forward into the castle. The tension from the moment ebbed away as the feeling of adventure put a spring in their steps.

* * *

Headmaster Grimm prided on knowing many different subjects, especially on those related to his school. He made sure to know what exactly was going on within the school walls at all times, whether it be big or small.

Which is why, when on the rare occasion that something (or someone) was unfamiliar or strange, it drove him insane to figure it all out.

His two new students provided by that _Headmistress_ were a definite anomaly.

Grimm was at his desk and sorting through the files of the two new students, looking over them carefully. While having their track records did provide a good background on just _who_ they were, but it left out some vital information.

Just what in Ever After are their stories?

Milton looked over the file of this 'Double D' character. The dual student. A straight A student, mostly well-behaved, and definitely a teacher's pet. Very rarely goes against orders and is cooperative to people he respects. Most likely would fit in a hero or supporting role, depending if most of the facts were true.

"On the other hand," He said to himself, grimacing as he looked over the singular student. 'Eddy.'

While definitely noted as being intelligent, he was noted to be a troublemaker in anything he was ever involved, a bane to those in authority, and someone that is only loyal to a small few. A terrifying force to be reckoned with when angered, especially with enough tools at his disposal. He was fit to be in a villain role, clearly, but he just didn't know which one.

Grimm sighed, rubbing his hands down his face. They'd be considered Understudies for now, but their true roles would come out in time. Hopefully.

Here's to hoping that they don't cause too much trouble.

* * *

"Raven?"

"Yeah?"

"What the heck is this thing?!"

Eddy gestured to the door in front of them blocking their path. It had taken a good hour to get here due to stairs that led them down here. At its base, a carving of a wheel segmented into various parts stood in the middle, along with a formation of sticks and stones with similar symbols on them put up in a wheel in front of it. A puzzle of some sort.

"I told you my mom had a fondness for traps." Raven crossed her arms, looking it over. "Not to mention weird puzzles. Probably something that'll kill us if we do it wrong."

The group collectively groaned at the sound of that. "I'm really starting to not like your mom." Eddy said, kicking at a pebble on the ground.

"Join the club."

"Oh, come on, it isn't that bad. This doesn't look too hard to solve." Apple moved to the puzzle, looking over carefully. It seemed like it was one of those puzzles were if you move one part, it moves several others along with it, making it difficult to match a pattern. A simple mind games. "Plus, I'm sure if any traps were down here, they would've been disabled already."

"I wouldn't say that if I were you." Cleo looked around the place, noting details the other failed to see. "Take it from someone who lived in a pyramid rigged against grave robbers; a trap is never truly disabled or too old to work. Some get even deadlier over time." She noted holes in the walls and some places on the floor that looked warped or strange. "Spikes and darts. Very classic, if a little gory."

Apple winced. "I suppose I'll just have to make sure I don't get the solution wrong then." She turned to the puzzle, moving already coming up with some moves in her head. Tentatively, she moved one of them. "If you don't mind, would you help disable the traps?"

Cleo rolled her eyes but moved towards moved around the room. "Eddy, since you're the one who wants the treasure so badly, why don't you help me knock out some of these?"

"Whatever." He moved around and started to move around, plugging holes in dart traps and the like. He didn't necessarily enjoy himself as they did this, but he was always down for thwarting a few traps. Maybe even take note of some of the designs for himself.

Cleo was simply wrapped up in determining what was around them, determining what exactly was around them. It reminded her of all the times she attempted to escape her tomb for a second, making her believe she was solving the complicated riddle of "How Do I Get the Heck Out of Here?" Honestly, if this turned out to be a ruse, then she was going to give this 'Evil Queen' a piece of her mind.

Apple was simply having fun twisting the mechanism around and attempting to find the right shapes and the right symbols that matched the markings of the door. It was nice to actually let her brain do the work for once and be recognized for it. She liked being known as fairest of them all and all, but it was nice to know she could do stuff outside of it.

Of course, that line of thought came to a halt when she actually _completed _the puzzle.

"Oh." She stopped and looked it over again. "Some of the pieces are missing."

She was indeed right. Some of the pieces of the puzzle were indeed missing from the original solution. It was only a few, but it did bother her a little that it wasn't exactly right. Apple huffed and looked to the other two. "Are you all done with the traps."

"Yep." Eddy said, giving her a thumbs up. At that, she pushed the button in the middle and watched as the symbols started to glow faintly. It appeared everything seemed to be correct.

Except the room gave a sudden shake.

"Is everything alright up there?" Double D asked, gesturing for the others to move back. Eddy gave them a sign to wait as Cleo observed their surroundings.

"There it is." Cleo saw some of the traps they sabotaged activate but fail helplessly. "It appears they happen in a sequence. The first ones would've been a warning, but better safe than sorry, I suppose."

"You sound way too nonchalant for someone that would probably be scared out of her mind if you were in the same situation." Eddy said casually, looking over the puzzle himself.

"Can't kill what's already dead. Figures you wouldn't know that."

Eddy growled, still looking over Apple's work. "It looks like you got it right, Princess. What the heck happened there?"

"Some of the pieces are missing. The symbols in the back must need them to match up here, but that's impossible in its current state." The blonde tapped her foot, looking around the place. Trying it again would most likely send the traps down on her, but it wasn't like they could do anything else.

"Screw it." The boy started to pick up rocks, pulling out a glue and a marker. "The games rigged, so might as well cheat."

"Why were you carrying glue in your pocket?" The mummy asked, raising a disgusted eyebrow.

"Never know when you'll need it." He started to wright down the missing symbols on several corresponding rocks.

"This certainly takes the sport out of it." Apple said but watched curiously. If anything, if it worked, then it would make an interesting story to say the least. Then again, the same could be said if it doesn't.

"Like I said," Eddy put on the last 'piece' of the puzzle, making sure to hit the button and pray that he drew the symbols right. "If the game is rigged, you might as well cheat."

The symbols, old and new, started to glow ominously, but this time the result was much more in their favor. Instead of another jarring jump in the room, the door slowly slid open to reveal another hallway, longer than the last. Eddy turned and took a bow, smiling smugly at his workaround.

Apple clapped happily and made sure to head straight into the dark hallway, giving Eddy a hearty congratulations as she passed. Cleo looked surprised, only giving him a slight look as she passed him.

"Broken clocks are right twice a day, I suppose." She said as she passed. Eddy stuck out his tongue at her back.

He looked at the others and motioned for them to come forward. "Hurry up. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd call dibs if I saw something cool."

They moved forward, some more reluctant than others.

* * *

"You know, Bloodgood, it's nice that you called me out here today," The wrinkled hand of an old woman pushed the cup to her lips and took a sip of tea. "But I can't help but think you brought me over for more than just a friendly conversation."

Headmistress Bloodgood sighed and rolled her eyes at her longtime friend. "I know it's been a little while, but it's not that strange to call old friends, Baba Yaga."

The woman, Baba Yaga, was sitting on air with a raised eyebrow. Dressed in homemade clothing and adjusting the red shawl at the top of her head, she gave a low chuckle. "Yes, it is nice to catch up. You've always been good for conversation, but again, I feel like this isn't that."

Bloodgood frowned. "It can be two things."

"Indeed." Yaga took another sip of her Bloodmoon tea, letting it go to float in the air beside air. "Though, if you want to make any small talk, I suggest cutting to the chase. Neither of us are patient women."

"Indeed." Bloodgood set down her tea as well, leaning back into her chair with her arms crossed. "Have you found out where he is?"

"If I'm guessing correctly about whom you speak of, then no. Neither hide nor hair of him anywhere at the school." Yaga's expression turned into a genuinely sympathetic frown. "I would've said something by now if I did, I truly do. We had our disagreements, but he was a pleasant man."

"Is, Yaga. He's missing, not dead." The headmistress stood up and stalked to the window. She gave a deep glare to the other school in the distance, hoping it reached the headmaster. "Milton most likely knows, but we both know he isn't going to say anything. Especially when it comes to me."

"He's just been stressed. With your responsibilities, I'd think you'd understand that." Another sip and Yaga raised an eyebrow to her old friend. "It isn't helped that you brought some _interesting _students into his fold. Unplanned variables always make him nervous."

A hint of smirk came onto the horsewoman's face but was quashed. "I couldn't leave those three out there in the human world alone, if that's what you're suggesting."

"They're certainly going to be well-known. Saw it as soon as two of them came to me for their schedules." The mystic barked out a laugh. "The short one you delivered to us will probably be in my villain classes, soon enough. There's definitely been a gender imbalance after Gaston's son was expelled." She swirled her cup, looking into the leaves deeply. "The other one I'm not so sure about. He'll be interesting based on his 'status' alone, but any other tricks up his sleeve is yet to be determined."

There was a brief pause.

"Where did you find them? I certainly don't remember hearing about them before."

Bloodgood only paid half attention to her, eyes drawn to a light within the enchanted forest.

"Like all great things." She said coolly, eyes not moving away from the light. "In the middle of nowhere."

* * *

"...this is a trap, isn't it?"

"Most likely."

Raven looked around the room, attempting to detect any magic within the room with True Sight. While she nor Cleo could find any magic or mundane traps within the place, it still raised some alarm bells.

Mostly because it looked like a simple room.

The group was stood now in a room that was perfectly even on all sides, in almost a perfect cube. The walls were made of simple stone, imposing with the straight color of gray. They could hear the birds outside, meaning the walls weren't as thick as they appeared, but the sunlight was blocked out thoroughly.

And in the center of this plain looking room sat a plain, wooden, treasure chest with no locks on it.

"There's nothing around here that's magically connected to my mom. That doesn't mean there isn't something _in _the chest, though, so if any of you don't have any fear, feel free to open it." The magical girl let the true sight ebb away, sardonically kicking the chest.

"I volunteer!" Ed jogged up, face lighting up at the sight of the chest. "I have no common sense, which is practically the same thing!"

"_I'll help as well. It seems everyone has done their part so far and I can't have myself be the only one that failed to contribute." _Ghoulia followed closely behind, though stayed the farthest away from the chest. _"I can't say I have any mastery in magic, but I always have a chemistry set on hand."_

"Where are you keeping a chemistry set?" Raven only received a shrug in response to her question, which she decided to roll with. "Fair enough. Want to do the honors, Ed?"

"Yes!" He pumped his fists into the air, moving to the chest and opening it up with one big flourish.

The occupants of the room instinctively tensed, but the ensuing silence was all that resulted from the dramatic opening. It only kept going when they got a good look inside the chest.

An assorted amount of jewelry of different makes, colors, and even several brands were labeled. Necklaces, bracelets, and a couple of rings could be seen within the chest, each with their own unique jewel sets.

"Weird." Raven looked over the contents with a suspicious look. "All of this for a bigger jewelry box. I've never even seen her wear half of these things; she was always more the 'dark and mysterious' type. It was never her scene."

"_This could be nest egg in case something ever happened to her kingdom. She was probably preparing for things to go wrong and put away some things that she could sell if she had to go on the run." _Ghoulia smiled a little as Raven nodded, though she gave it a more critical eye herself. _"However, it doesn't explain why she went to so much trouble for a single nest egg."_

"Honestly, I don't know what she was thinking." Ed shrugged, reaching out for a necklace. "Just means more for us when we split it. You think we should go three ways for each group, or would ten ways be-"

As he touched the necklace and started lifting it from its position, the room startled to emit a low rumble from its foundation. Quickly putting it back, Ed stood up and grabbed the other two, pulling them back from the chest quickly.

"It's a trap!" Raven yelled, instantly moving to the open doorway to the others. "Everybody get back!"

The group made a collective retreat as the room kept shaking behind them. Despite some hesitation, it was quickly dispelled after something began to break through the floors of the room, claws reaching and pulling the body it was connected to out with it.

Made of bones, a creature with the features of a lizard rose out of the ground, feet clacking against floor. With the pointed head of a dragon and the body of a lizard, the being rose on its hindlegs and stood over the group, letting out an echoing roar.

"Alright!" Eddy smiled sardonically, smile strained. "I have officially moved on from not liking your mom, to absolutely hating her!"

"Again, join the freaking club." Raven held back, looking over the creature. "It looks like my mom stashed a familiar of hers here. Probably just to mess with anyone that decided to come around here."

"Anyone have any ideas how to deal with that thing? Especially from Ghoulia!" Cleo was hiding behind said zombie, holding up a random artifact she was keeping on her person. It wasn't one that would particularly help in this situation, but she felt safer having it.

The zombie's eyes narrowed, noticing the magic moving out of the head like smoke. _"Is the enchantment making it sentient located in the head?"_

"Looks like it." The thing moved carefully in the now open space, thankfully not noticing the castle's occupants just yet. "I can probably 'turn it off,' but I'd have to get to it directly."

"_That shouldn't be that hard."_ Ghoulia turned around to face the other. _"If no one here minds, I'd suggest grabbing some of the vines laying about and be prepared to possibly trip and tie the creature up. Of course, distracting the creature may be difficult."_

Ed smiled and immediately made a run for it. "My time has come!"

Followed by some yells of surprise and his friends telling him to come back, Ed slid to a stop a few feet from the creature, an excited look on his face.

"Hey, big guy!" He yelled, catching the creature's attention. Before it could make a move towards the intruder, Ed held his hands and gave off, what could only be called, a cocky smirk. "Get a load of this!"

As the inky black of the swirled around him, covering him, he laughed like a madman the entire time. His voice warbled and wavered as shadows coalesced into a tentacles and scale, a head forming and slowly. As it finally took a physical form, it blinked once or twice before letting out a loud roar.

Meanwhile, back at the group, everyone was terrified.

"Hey Double D." Clawdeen started quietly.

"Yes, Clawdeen?"

"You said that he didn't transform because he wasn't comfortable yet, right?"

"That's correct."

"Now, was that because he didn't want to reveal it yet, or because he wouldn't fit inside the freakin' library?"

"Both."

Ed, immediately taking the initiative, took a swing at the creature in front of him with several of his tentacles, the rest moving him to the side. The creature in question took the brunt of the blow before letting out a shrill shriek and attempting to swipe at the offending appendages.

Already on the move, however, the swipe missed broadly as Ed moved up onto some trees, climbing through them with disturbing ease. He swung out several times, hitting his opponent several times with only the occasional miss. After the third or fourth hit, the bone lizard moved backward, attempting to wait out its next moved.

"Okay, I think I'm up for Ghoulia's plan. Anyone who isn't, stay inside the castle!" Eddy ran outside, already attempting to move around the perimeter for the building to find vines that were easy to grab, followed shortly by a majority of the others. Only Raven and Ghoulia were left behind.

"_I'll figure out where exactly our compatriots should go to set up a trap. Raven, how long do you need to prepare the spell?" _Ghoulia asked, getting ready to get on the move.

"This isn't the first time I've taken out some of mom's enchantments on things." Her hands started to emit the purple glow of magic fire. "It'll take only a few minutes. Just hope Ed's good at distracting it."

"I'd worry more about that thing getting loose." Double D was already holding a vine and wrapping it, starting to create a pile. "As worried as I am about Ed, he's had a house dropped on him before and he walked out of it unimpeded."

The two shrugged, deciding to believe him since his friend did turn into… _whatever_ he was right now and got to work. Raven started compiling the energy for the spell while Ghoulia directed the others into moving the items she wanted into their proper place.

Ed had moved away from stalking within the trees to suddenly lunge out, throwing his body against the thing at full force, sending it tumbling backward. It caught its footing, but the creature only got angrier and attempted to make a lung of its own, missing broadly as Ed only moved to the side quickly. It went face first into a tree. Anyone there would've swore they heard deep chuckling from Ed's direction.

It turned around in a daze, biting at Ed again with increased ferocity, murder clear in its dead eyes. Ed did his best to slither away, but when the bites started to get too close, he wrapped a tentacle around its mouth and gave a it a headbutt, growling heavily. This caused the creature to back up, causing them both to start prowling, watching each other closely in a circle.

"_Ed!"_ Ghoulia waved towards the transformed Ed boy, catching his attention temporarily. _"The spells ready! We need you to get that thing inside that nest of vines right there!"_ She pointed to a long grouping of vines spread out into rows, stretched out between the pillars. No one else could be seen.

The boy-turned-monster nodded, taking a sudden move forward at the enchanted creature before him with a roar. It met with him in the middle, making its own attempt push Ed back, roaring it it's face. Neither of them gave each other room to move, making it a stalemate.

The familiar attempted to bite into Ed one last time, breaking the stalemate, causing him to move backwards to the vines. Taking a few 'steps,' Ed then stopped, slithering downward and grabbing its torso. Before it could so much as utter another roar, Ed flipped the creature upside down and move it onto its back with a loud boom, right onto the vines.

Ghoulia's trap was set off instantly, wrapping itself around the monster without hesitation, trapping it. The familiar screeched, thrashing within its confines, attempting to strongarm its way out. Raven slid out of her hiding place, hands alight and putting them against the creature's head. The familiars head brightened temporarily before the lights in its eyes turned off and the collection of bones fell apart.

The moment was calm as everyone looked at the pile of bones begin to dissipate, becoming a mist that flowed further into nothingness. As the calm came down on the battlefield, Ed walked up, his monster form having flowed into darkness behind him, he looked around at the wreckage before something.

"Hey, the chest is okay."

Before the rest of the group could bother to look at him, they were interrupted by a group of knights led by a _very_ ticked off Headmaster Grimm.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

* * *

Eddy frankly wasn't fond of the fact that their little adventure had to end in the principal's office.

He certainly didn't appreciate being yelled at for something that they were informed was a completely legal activity.

"I know that you three are new around here, I do." Headmaster Grimm paced behind his desk with a controlled look on his face. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that you went into an unidentified ruin without some form of permission from local authorities."

"Uh, Headmaster Grimm?" Double D spoke up, catching his attention. "We did look up the rules and they did state that it was fair game to go into those ruins. Especially since previous adventurers admitted the situation was benign at the time."

"Yes, and good on you for looking those up." This caused the boys to feel some relief before it was snatched away. "However, you have to be _licensed _in order to fight beings like the one you met before. Not to mention that you brought several princesses along with you who could've been hurt."

"Not to burst your sexist bubble, pal, but they did their part too." Eddy leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes. "Apple helped solve a puzzle, Maddie, Cerise and Clawdeen got the wolves out, and Raven and Ghoulia took the familiar out. Heck, even Queenie pitched in." He moved forward, giving the man the stink eye. "Which means they're just as much to blame as us. Why aren't they getting punished?"

"They're getting a talk as well, Mr. Edward." Milton stopped behind his desk and looked him in the eye. "And while your concerns are noted, they aren't necessary. There's still the matter about how the situation will reflect on the rest of your time here in my establishment."

"That it means we're going to have a great time here with lots of adventure?" Ed asked cluelessly, earning a strange look in response.

"If I have anything to say about it, that will be somewhat true."

The four occupants of the room heard the voice pop up, turning to find Headmistress Bloodgood entering the office with a smile on her face. "I hope you haven't started yet, Milton. I would like a word with my students."

"This doesn't concern you. I was just about to punish these three before you came in." The headmaster stood up and gave her a cold look. He was met with an equally cold look in response.

"And these are my students as well, so I believe anything that happens to them should go by me as well. Besides, did they do anything particularly wrong?"

Grimm winced at that. "Not exactly. But it was dangerous, what they did."

"Was it something any other student here would be expected to handle?"

"Only in some cases." Grimm felt his resolve weaken as Bloodgood advanced on him, glaring right into his eyes.

"Have they caused any damage to school, town, or anything considered private property?"

Milton sputtered on for a few seconds before pinching the bridge of his nose and letting out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. I won't punish them for now." He looked at the three boys and gave them a pronounced frown. "I would be on your best behavior from here on out, though."

He stalked out of his office, giving the door a slam as he left. Bloodgood sighed before moving to stand in front of the boys.

"You do realize that it isn't a good thing to be called into the principal's office _before_ the school year begins?" She said, raising an eyebrow. She received a few embarrassed looks in response. "None of you truly did anything wrong here, but it is a little risky to bring attention to yourselves like this."

"It wasn't like we meant to cause trouble, ma'am." Double D said carefully. "We were just attempting to figure out how to move forward on some of our goals to fit in."

"Yeah, things just got a little out of hand." Eddy nonchalantly waved off the accusations. "I mean, we got some Monster and Legends together for something and we got some cool loot out of it that'll set us up for a while. I'd say today was success."

"While I do applaud you three on your efforts, I do have some bad news." Bloodgood handed them a paper. "The jewelry your group found uncovered that nearly every item in there was cursed."

"What?!" The three said in unison, Eddy grabbing the paper so all three of them could look it over. As she said, every item in there was a catalogued and organized based on the piece of jewelry, type of curse, and their severity. They each let out a disappointed groan at the sight of it.

"I wouldn't let that discourage you. You can salvage them by taking the cursed jewels _out_ of the items. It won't look as pretty but selling the gold would earn you a pretty penny." The headmistress shrugged. "Also, it's all yours, by the way. The girls said to keep it since apparently Ed 'fought the familiar back.' Which I want to know how you did, by the way."

Ed shrugged. "I used my monster form."

"Excuse me?" Bloodgood narrowed her eyes.

"Monster form." Ed flicked his hand to grab a book from the other end of the room, a tentacle forming out of misty darkness for a second before it was pulled back. He smiled at her innocently as she processed what she saw.

"…I see you three are very overqualified for this." She said faintly, wavering as she stood up. "Hopefully, this type of luck continues. Considering now you three have the rest of the school year, we'll all need it." She stood up and moved towards the door before making a brief stop.

"That reminds me," She gave them a critical eye. "With the school year coming up, I'm trying to give something to the students of both schools that I believe will make it start uproariously. I'm ironing out the details, but don't be surprised if anyone comes to talk to you three about it. It would be a good way to advertise your new business."

"You can count on us Ms. B." Eddy gave a salute, which she only gave a nod to before moving out. He sighed and melted into his seat, rubbing at his eyes. "Too bad that whole adventure was a bogus. Would've been nice to have a higher payday."

"Hey, come on guys!" Ed lounged in his seat and started counting off some things. "We made some friends, had a few laughs, did a few good deeds; we even had a boss fight at the end."

"Plus, the gold from the jewelry should make us some quick cash. Only the jewels are cursed, so it won't take too much time to get them out of there." Double D supplied helpfully. He leaned back in his chair too. "Though, I suppose the issue then would be to determine what exactly w do with the jewels afterward. Can't have those lying around."

"Yeah, yeah." Eddy looked out the window, deep in thought. Probably some way to get those things to work for them, right? Otherwise they're just useless as they are, which is something he wouldn't be happy with.

_Imagine a rechargeable battery…_

…_why I stick with cursed items._

…_have to find the right use for it._

Eddy blinked. Then he blinked again.

Blinking a third time, he gained a large smile on his face that made his friends immensely nervous.

Standing up from his chair and sauntering towards the door, he let out a bone chilling statement.

"Boys, I believe I have an idea."

* * *

**Alright, while I can't say I'm satisfied with it, I think this chapter went okay! Hopefully you all enjoyed it enough to keep reading.**

**The job stuff will be hell, but I'll get through it. Might do some stuff online to make up for any loss in revenue, but it'll be good. I'm applying and making sure to not be picky (might be better off too; some of these jobs have better pay and actual benefits). If you want to ask any questions about anything I plan to do online, ask me on my new twitter at /LemonHelpless. If not, I'll see you next chapter within the next few weeks.**


	8. 8 Theories and Management

**Another chapter up and running! Thus starting the end of the Prep Arc and leading on to canon events within both shows. Of course, it's only beginning after that and things will really go insane as time goes on, especially with things getting more advanced. Hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

Double D was the type of person to feel very complex emotions at all times. However, at this moment, he could only pinpoint two at this moment.

The first was pride on how Eddy was attempting to apply the scientific method on something for once in his life.

The second was anxiety at the fact his friend was doing this with something that was very likely to blow up in their faces. Literally, in this case.

"You wouldn't mind explaining exactly _what _we're trying to do here, Eddy?" He eyed the cursed jewels that they were able to pull out of the jewelry they had collected on their adventure. It had been slow going, with a few broken ones attesting to the difficulty of the task, but they had collected few so far. "I'm a little concerned as to why you need this many cursed gems for one project. Along with the abundance of blackthorn wood you seem to have collected."

Eddy payed little attention as he attempted to wrap the plastic over the wood carefully, tongue sticking out. "I said I had an idea and I'm following through with it. Nothing else to talk about."

"Yeah, but whatever you're doing looks really cool." Ed looked over some of Eddy's amateurish designs, giving it the occasional squint. "Looks like your making superhero suit or something." He gasped, looking at his friend in wonder. "Are you trying to be Iron Man?!"

"Kinda." Eddy wrapped the loose branch up and around the base, moving back to take a break. Preliminary checks on the wires looked good to him, so maybe giving them a quick explanation would allow him a test run. "Look, you know how I was talking to Raven and Cleo about magic and stuff?"

Double D raised an eyebrow. "It was the only time you weren't bickering at each other."

"Exactly." The short boy grabbed one of the cursed jewels on the table, checking it out casually as the small ruby glinted in the artificial light. "I asked Raven about magical cores and stuff since, you know, she's a sorceress and all, figuring she would have an answer to some of them. She described the idea of magical cores being like rechargeable batteries. Every time you use it, it loses power that can be recharged later."

"Like my handheld games." Ed smiled proudly when Eddy gave him a nod.

"Right on the money. After that, it couldn't help but get me thinking about the whole battery thing. Magical batteries that never run out of juice. This led to us talking about enchanted items that magic users usually make. Magic users don't want to waste that much energy on something they weren't likely to use when their magic, so they usually power them up with a limited charge. The only reason we don't have to worry about the storage charm on Ed's armor is because of the simple enchantment itself."

"But we aren't dealing with enchanted items here." Double D didn't like feeling confused, tapping his foot impatiently. "This is _cursed _items, Eddy. Something I thought you would be reluctant to deal with."

"I was. But then something Cleo brought up got to me." Eddy suddenly threw the small ruby to Double D, watching him fumble with it for a few seconds. "Cursed items are meant to have a permanent charge. Meaning that they're supposed to go on forever, never running out despite the circumstances. They literally recharge themselves."

The short boy couldn't help but smirk as his friend blinked before getting the full weight of the implications.

"You want to use these as a power source?" The smart Ed boy looked over the jewel himself with new eyes, thinking of the possibilities themselves. "That's... brilliant, actually. A self-charging power source that if kept on a constant loop could power any device for as long as you pleased."

"Like an arc reactor!" Ed interjected. He grabbed Double D and shook him while cackling. "We could have super suits! Maybe you can even power your project with one of these things."

"Nice to know you're all excited." Eddy smirked before continuing. "But that isn't the only goal here."

He grabbed the object he was working on before he was interrupted. Blackthorn wood wrapped was wrapped up in thin plastic wiring, about as long as his arm. A clamp on one end looked as large as his wrist, while a clamp on the other end looked like it would attach to his shoulder. At one end of the makeshift wire was a small mold holding another ruby, with a glass lid over it to protect it from the elements. Another, regular wire was also attached, long enough to snake up somewhere, with a little patch at the top.

"This little thing right here is going to help me do magic." Eddy moved to attach the main wire to his arm, rolling up his sleeve and closing the clamps on his arm. "Some magic users need something to conduct their magic through, with blackthorn being a popular material for dark magic. Attach this, use some rings with some blackthorn in them, and you got it looks like I'm using magic."

Double D didn't want to interrupt, but some concern rose up in him at this. "But wouldn't that limit you to just blasting things? It wouldn't be good if you wanted to actually use some spells."

"Doesn't sound like a downside to me." Ed watched Eddy mess around with the wire on his arm a little more. "Just go all around and go 'pew, pew,' and nobody asks any questions."

"True, on both counts. But that's why I got this." Eddy waved around the wire connected to the patch. "I took this off one of those old game things that let you 'lift a ball with your mind.'* I still think it was a scam, but I messed around with what I got. Should be good enough to help visualize some spells."

Flexing carefully, he lifted, looking at a lone wrench on the table in front of him. He reached out to it, closing one eye and attempting to clear his mind. The only thing he was concentrating his mind on was moving it.

His concentration almost shattered when he felt the power course through the wire, sending out a few sparks at the end near his hand. The sparks connected to the rings he put on his hand, eventually causing it to light up in a weak, blueish glow that flowed around his hand, warming it up. He noticed a similar glow flow over the wrench, making his heart beat fast.

With one small movement, he pulled his arm back and the wrench slid off the table and clattered to the floor.

Eddy blinked a few times, feeling his concentration break then. He frowned briefly but shrugged. "Probably gonna' need a few more gems so I can actually do some powerful stuff. It's a start though." He turned to his friends with grin. "Not bad huh- wait, why are you crying Sockhead?"

Double D was, in fact crying, but he had a big smile. "You had a hypothesis, a theory, and an actual method to test it." He sniffed. "I'm so proud."

Eddy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You don't need to sound so surprised. I spent hours studying this, so I've got to know something by now." He paused when he realized. "Wait. I've actually been studying all this for hours on end, on purpose. I just did an experiment that required using that knowledge. Oh no..."

"You're a nerd!" Ed pointed at him, a horrified look on his face. They both screamed as Double D rolled his eyes, chuckling to himself.

"I knew this would happen someday! Sockhead would somehow get me into book learning or Ed drawing me into his movies were probably how'd I'd go, but I thought I'd go kicking and screaming!" Eddy sat in the fetal position and rocked back and forth slowly. "It just took me over like disease. I didn't notice until it was too late."

The smart Ed boy would've interrupted if the ringing of their business's doorbell didn't stop him. Double D shook his head and moved to the front door quietly before opening it.

Looking at the two figures in front of him, he stood up straighter. "Headmistress Bloodgood, Headmaster Grimm. What a surprise!"

* * *

"Grimm wants us to do what?"

Raven watched Apple gracefully move across their room, humming to herself as she grabbed her MirrorPad and checked off a few boxes. She was finishing up her chores for the day, which reminded Raven that her own were coming up soon.

"He wants us to help head a joint event for the schools coming up at the end of the month. Some form of party or concert. He asked that I take an advisory role and wanted me to find some volunteers. I figured you would be a good fit." Apple said it matter of factly, writing up all the supplies they could need and prioritizing certain tasks she thought up of. "I'm always looking for a second opinion on some things and need this year to start perfectly."

Her roommate frowned. Right. They were going to sign the book this year. "I get that," Raven started carefully, "But I don't exactly have as much experience in dealing with this than you do. Or any kind of experience."

"That's even better! Maybe this'll make you a better Evil Queen, I'm sure of it." Apple didn't notice or simply ignored the frown that appeared on her roommate's face. "It's been a while since I last helped with any of these events, so hopefully I'm not too rusty. Headmaster Grimm wanted us to mostly focus on finding a good place for the concert and some catering."

"I'll do it!"

The two girls jumped at the sound of Maddie's voice, finding her standing in their room.

"How did you get in here?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Plot convenience! Plus, I raced Cerise here."

As if to prove her insane point, the hooded girl burst through the doors, looking frantically inside. When she caught sight of the pink girl, she pointed at her while breathing heavily. "How did you beat me here?!"

"Plot convenience! I already said that once." Maddie rolled her eyes like _she _was acting ridiculous. She turned to Apple with a smile on her face. "Daddy and I have been looking for an event to cater for a couple weeks now and we're willing to do a discount for the school, so you can count us in."

"Okay." Deciding not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Apple crossed it off the list. "Cerise, do you think you can find us a place in the Enchanted Forest that's far from any wildlife?"

"Easily. How big a space do you need?" She leaned against the doorway, to either hide her heavy breathing or as an attempt to look casual.

"Big. We're accommodating the early students of both schools and we need to have plenty of room for everyone." Apple walked past her, still scribbling away on MirrorPad. Cerise only got a quick look at the large number of calendars and notes that were on there was enough to give her stress headaches.

"Sounds like plan." Maddie moved to raven and poked at her face. "You got any plans for the concert? It's been a while since we've seen you play."

Raven rubbed her arm, looking away from her friends. "I don't think that's a good idea right now. I'm really just scouting for talent or helping Apple out. I'm saving it for the talent show later."

Cerise looked around the hallway first before moving towards her friend and conspiratorially whispered. "Look, I just one thing to say when it comes to Sparrow."

"I'm all ears." The black-haired girl replied quickly.

"Don't do it. I love my cousin and all, but for the love of Destiny, do not let him on that stage." She deadpanned, shaking her head slowly. "I've had to deal with it for years and would rather not have to hear it back upped by sound speakers."

Raven laughed along, moving outside the room to follow her roommate. "I'll keep that in mind." Before fully leaving, she turned to the other two. "Come on, Apple will probably want to know how much Maddie can cook and what you have in store. Can't keep her waiting."

The two looked at each other for a moment. Maddie gave a wide smile and tilted her head challengingly. "Bet I can beat you to that field your thinking of."

Cerise snorted and moved into a sprinting position. "What, can you read my mind now?"

"Nope." She smiled wider, giving off a particularly _mad_ aura. "I can just read ahead."

As the two bolted out the door, Raven shook her head fondly as she closed and locked the door behind her. She wondered if the Ed's and those Monsters she met before were having as stressful of a day.

* * *

"_Clawdeen, I would suggest slowing down before you collapse from exhaustion."_

"I'll rest when I'm dead, and we know ways to get past that."

The werewolf had been, to her simultaneous delight and annoyance, been swamped with requests online and from people off the street. It was mostly people from school with requests for homecoming dresses and suits, with a lot of them thinking it would clever to request it early. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case since she had been working the entire day and hadn't made a dent into the requests.

_"As much as I want to congratulate you on your recent success, I would suggest taking a break soon. I would appreciate seeing you actually sleep before the week is done."_ Ghoulia was fiddling with some of her sewing machines, attempting to fix or improve a few of them. She was called about an hour ago and it didn't take her long to realize that her friend hadn't been doing anything else all day.

"I'll be fine." Clawdeen waved off the concern with a pair of scissors, making a cut on another piece of fabric. "I'm pretty sure I can get a good head start before school begins if I stay up for a few nights. Not much different to how you used to study."

Ghoulia looked up and frowned deeply. _"Yes, but I had to stop because it was doing much more harm than good when it came to my grades. With something as precise as sewing, I can only imagine similar results would follow."_

The werewolf sighed before putting down the latest work in process. She had a point, even if she was too stubborn to admit. "I was joking, Ghoulia. You know I'm smarter than that."

The zombie gave her a deadpan expression in response, which was fair since she was lying. She was totally willing to pull some all-nighters if need be, but she didn't have to know about it.

_"You are," _The zombie conceded. _"But you're just as prone to making bad decisions under pressure. I have a graph somewhere detailing how often this occurs."_

Clawdeen knew she had to change the subject, fast. "Any idea what you want to do for homecoming this year? I haven't really figured it out yet myself."

The question, thankfully, caught Ghoulia off guard since she immediately went back to working on the sewing machines. _"I don't have plans. Figured I'd take another night in the labs or something."_

The werewolf wasn't exactly pleased by that answer. It was going to be the second year that she did this and they were all third years now. "You said that last year and we almost didn't see you for a week. Cleo was worried sick."

_"It's not exactly fun to dance with people when you fail to keep up with them, Clawdeen."_ Moving the repaired sewing machine to the side and grabbing another one, she let out a deep sigh. _"You guys make it easier for me sometimes, but with that many people there, it'll be hard for me to acclimate. You remember the first one."_

Clawdeen winced. It _had _been a disaster, from what she could remember. All of them freshmen, still trying to navigate through the remains of Nefera's reign and getting used to new hierarchies. Not to mention dances and all that crud, where everyone dressed up, lorded dates over people, and were just rude.

Ghoulia, since she was a zombie, sometimes failed to keep up.

Cleo did make it easier in some cases since becoming Queen Bee, but Ghoulia never played the game of competitive high school drama. She was popular now, at least in some circles, but some people will speed past a zombie no matter who it is.

"I'm sure it'll be different this year." Clawdeen sighed and sat down in her seat with a huff. Rubbing at her eyes, she fought down a yawn. "Maybe I'll take a nap later. I'm freaking exhausted."

And the universe taunted her once again, as the door to the sewing room was opened abruptly by Cleo De Nile.

"Girls, I'm going to need you two for a little project!"

The werewolf couldn't help but groan.

* * *

"It's nice to see you all here today. I apologize that I had to call you all here on short notice, I'm sure you've all been busy."

Bloodgood greeted the guests in her office, the students shifting a bit as they couldn't help but feel cramped. Grimm was in the back, simply trying not to touch anything as he was pretty sure half the items in the room were cursed, and the others were just plain creepy. He gave everyone a critical eye as they walked in, narrowing his eyes slightly at the sight of the Eds. He got an infuriatingly friendly wave in response.

"I'm assuming that most you know why you're here today." The headmistress continued amicably.

"Cleo just dragged me and Ghoulia here, so no." Clawdeen said tiredly, blinking slowly. Maddie, in true fashion, was handed her a particularly caffeinated mug of tea, stating something along the lines of "it's better than coffee," and how there was "tea has more caffeine." Whether the werewolf heard or not was debatable as she chugged it immediately without asking what it was. She received some sympathetic glances from Double D and Cerise.

Bloodgood figured it was best to ignore this exchange until later.

"To put it simply, we've told you all that you would be helping with a concert that will occur at the end of the break. You've all been informed of that, correct?" She received nods from the students and smiled. "Good. However, I cannot say that it's the full story here. If my _compatriot_ here would like to begin..."

Headmaster Grimm did his best not to sigh to incur the wrath of the undead woman. "She's not exaggerating, unfortunately. We've decided to run a few programs this year that will hopefully end this 'feud' that she claims-" He was interrupted by a glare sent his way, coughed and corrected himself. "-feud that has plagued both schools. We believe having some positive interactions between both groups would provide that."

"Starting with a concert like this." Bloodgood turned down the lights, a projector turning on and illuminating an empty space at the back of the room. She pressed down on a remote, changing the blank white screen to an organized schedule. "We've decided that, if things go as planned at the concert with no incidents, then several events at both of the schools can be combined in order to better relations." She kept pushing the button on the remote, showing several photos in tandem. Pictures of school dances, festivals, and something like it appeared on the screen, showing people happily playing or dancing together.

"Of course, no incidents mean that if anything does happen, this plan gets shut down." Grimm interjected. "If any confrontations happen or the gathering gets out of control, the plan will be abandoned immediately. This clause also applies to any events that happen in the near future."

"Yes, quite." The headmistress turned off the presentation with a visible eye roll. "We'll be the judge of that, of course. Which leads us to why we brought you here. For the most part, most of you already know your assigned roles based on your skills and temperament. Apple and Raven will supervise the even, Madeline will take care of the catering, and Cerise is in charge of finding a suitable location."

"I'm assuming we're going to be in charge of pyrotechnics." Double D pointed to him and the other Eds, receiving a quick nod in response.

"As for the rest of you, Bloodgood figured that Ms. Yelps would keep track of the more technical aspects, Ms. De Nile would keep track of funding, and Ms. Wolf will be in charge of costuming when needed." Grimm ignored the groan coming from the werewolf. "This project requires your cooperation on this to the fullest extent in order to go smoothly. I hope you understand all that it entails."

Again, a chorus of confirmations came across the room, except it was a little more hesitant this time. Some squirming was seen, and some nervous glances were exchanged.

Headmistress Bloodgood grabbed a small pile of papers and handed them out to them. "Look over the rules and stipulations presented here and get back to us with anything else. We have plans set in stone already, but anything you add can be used to adjust it. Limitations on what can be done will be discussed later."

With a sigh and careful smile, she gave them a small smile. "You're all dismissed. Have fun."

* * *

"Have fun?! How the heck are we going to do _this_?"

They were at the "creepateria" as the Monster High students called it. Despite the bad pun, it wasn't a bad place to hang out, especially since they were the only ones there. At least, not anyone important.

"Eddy, I'm pretty sure we can manage. It's plenty of warning and it looks like a decent enough plan was brought to us." Apple, being ever patient, was already taking in the information from the sheets handed out to them. "They listed a few bands that they're trying to contact, but they're allowing some local talent to join. Some backup artists as well if we feel like we can get them."

"It is a very short time crunch, though." Cleo put down her own, frowning heavily. "I have a feeling that your headmaster was trying to delay this as soon as possible for some reason. I'm guessing he's not fond of change?"

"Completely resistant to it." Raven was keeping her eyes on some of the moving critters on the creepateria's ceiling, tapping her fingers on her arm. "He hasn't even changed the school lunches in over ten years. Very traditional type of guy. I think there was another headmaster, but I think he quit before we all started school."

"Sounds like he's fun at parties." Scratches of a pencil could be heard from her direction as she frantically wrote down everything, coming up with any set designs or costumes.

"Isn't that the truth." Cerise gave a Clawdeen a fist bump before turning to the others. "It all sounds complicated, though. Do any of us really have what it takes to do something like this? Especially in a week?"

"I'm sure of it. Bloodgood chose us all for our individual skills, after all." Double D showed his own designs to the rest. "I would suggest that we talk with anyone involved with the theater programs in both schools, especially if they have any portable stages. While my friends and I _could _build a stage pretty easily, it would be much easier if there was a couple we could jury rig together instead."

"Done." Apple was in business mode already. "Anyone else have any ideas?"

"I know who to get funding from and how to get it. Some monsters owe me some favors. Ghoulia is our techie, no questions asked." Cleo said casually, receiving a nod from her zombie. "Clawdeen will be in charge of main design, which the boys can work around while they deal with pyrotechnics."

Again, several nods came across the room. They got the confirmations from Apple and Raven as being the main searchers of talent while Maddie was already listing some foods her shop could provide.

_"I suppose our biggest concern would be to actually find a place that would be good enough for the concert."_ Ghoulia sat back, frowning deeply. _"While I don't think it'll be easy, there's surely a place that would suit the event best."_

Cerise nodded along. She could list a lot of good places for having it, but she had to think about how it effects the residents of the Enchanted Forest. Animals could be convinced to be led away for a while, but a big or curious one could always come back. If a non-sentient bear just strolled right into the party, people would just panic. Not to mention the environmental cost if any critters came back and ate any leftover trash, which was a given at those types of parties. She'd just have to find a place that animals avoided...

She sat up straight in her seat, raising her hand to catch everyone's attention. "I think I have an idea!"

* * *

"And so, the group of warriors return to the scene of the battle to celebrate their victory over an ancient evil..."

"Get off the rock, Lumpy, we got work to do."

Ed begrudgingly got off the rock facing the castle, muttering about how he'd do it later. The others were looking over the state of the ruined castle they'd visited before, especially in its current state. The damage to it after the fight was minimal, so it was still presentable in the way a ruined castle should be.

"While the castle would be a good backdrop for the concert, I am concerned about any structural integrity it may have. Especially when it comes to things deep within its caverns." Double D looked at Cerise with a curious eye. "Why here, exactly? Again, it's suitable for our needs, but I suppose you have your own reason."

Cerise shrugged. "It's a wide-open space with a cool background. We could probably use the inside as a place to store the food. Though it's mostly because the animals here avoid it like the plague." She frowned and tapped her foot. "Don't get me wrong, I like parties and all, but they produce way too much trash. Since animals are less likely to get here, they're less likely to eat anything left behind."

"A hexcellent idea!" Apple turned to Raven. "Do you think that since your mother owned the property, it would be fair game to use it?"

"Maybe." Raven gave a shrug of her own, looking at the property warily. "I mean, most of the land rights went to my dad, but I think I have some rights as her heir, but I'm not sure if we should do this. I mean, my mom probably did some pretty messed up stuff here."

"It's not like new memories can't be added to this place." Maddie moved ahead, turning around and flourishing her arms around her. "I'm sure we could even everything she did here out by doing this." She darted in front of her friend and gave her puppy dog eyes and a pout. "Please?"

Raven did her best to resist her friend's eyes but felt herself already give way as she sighed and slouched. "Fine."

The teens let out a small chorus of cheers, chattering about their plans. Eddy only listened partially, looking around them while he planned everything out. It seemed like this would be a decent project to get into, all things considered. He still wanted to just work on their personal projects back home, but this would get their businesses name out there.

Of course, he had a feeling it wouldn't last.

"Hail and well met!"

God dangit, of course he had to be right.

The chatter ended abruptly as the group turned to find Daring Charming had entered the scene, carrying his sword and wearing some light armor. He seemed wary, though, as he eyed the Ed's and the Monsters. "I'm surprised to see so many people here. Figured the castle was abandoned since there was some hullabaloo yesterday."

"Not exactly any of your business, Charmless." Eddy replied instantly. He received a whack to the head from Double D for it but couldn't muster up any regret for it.

The guy seemed fine and all, borderline polite, but something about him just rubbed him the wrong way. Too confident, too polite, and radiated some form of arrogance. He was probably judging too quickly like he always did, but he did badmouth Raven when they first met, so it wasn't like it was _totally _unfounded.

"Sorry about that." Double D responded politely, moving in front of his friend. "We were just discussing some plans for this place, with the familiar destroyed and all."

"That's fair." Daring didn't seem to mind Eddy's retort, though did take a second to look at the short boy. "I was told by Headmaster Grimm that there might be some clearing out left to do and I figured I'd come and take a look."

"But we already dealt with the familiar." Raven shifted from her position to get closer to the prince-in-training. "I'm pretty sure we already cleared everything out other than that."

"Yes, but Headmaster Grimm is fairly certain that things have to done through 'proper channels.' Which is me and the other knights of course." Daring shrugged and looked over the land. "Of course, we'll have to make sure to check it over for any traps or such things. I doubt that you went through every corridor."

He was right but Eddy really didn't feel like admitting it. "As much as I like the idea of you doing pest control, how long is that going to take? We kind of need the space for something."

Daring only shrugged at him casually, brushing off the tone. "We're not necessarily going to be disabling anything. This is the Evil Queens property after all, most likely littered with traps. We'll be _inspecting_ the place and if we find anything disconcerting, we call the professionals to clear out."

Eddy felt a little relieved when he noticed Ghoulia walk up beside him, a curious expression on her face. _"How long will it take for them to get here."_

The prince seemed to wince at this, actually looking sorry for a moment. "It would take them a few weeks to get out here and clear the area." Daring shrunk a little at Eddy's glare. "I'm guessing that won't be acceptable?"

"Not in the slightest, unfortunately." Double D shrugged and turned to give everyone a shaky smile. "I'm sure we can find another place. Cerise, do you think-"

"How long until you need to do an inspection?" Eddy asked, bulldozing over his friend's words. He didn't know why he felt like he had to do this, but he sure as heck wasn't going to let this guy stop them over some stupid bureaucracy.

"Uh," Daring apparently thought it was going to be the end of it, but he did eventually come up with an answer. "A couple of days? I'm just scouting out the place for now, but-"

Eddy was already turned around and walking towards the castle. "Queenie, Ray, we'll start combing through the castle and start disabling stuff. Shouldn't take too long, the castle isn't too big."

"Why am I getting volunteered for this?" Cleo asked, hand to her chest and hackles already raised.

"Because you don't want to get into more trouble with Bloodgood than you already are."

The mummy instantly deflated at this but expressed her irritation in a loud huff. "Fine. I'm not doing any of the menial labor though."

Raven had only nodded and moved forward a little before remembering something. "Wait. I actually have to do some stuff to, you know, plan the concert. Shouldn't somebody take my place?"

This caused Eddy to stop and groan, running his hands over his face. He sent a look to Ed, eyes narrowed. "Ed, you think you can disable a few traps without me or Sockhead?"

"Yep! I can take down anything that comes up too." Ed smiled in a way that concerned his friend, but the short Ed boy figured it would be fine. Maybe. Hopefully.

"Then I guess I'll take Raven's place." He immediately turned around and moved to Apple. "It's mostly signing stuff and finding some people competent enough to sing, right Princess?"

Apple was still blinking at the random amount of changes brought up. "I mean, yes. But will you still be able to do any building while this happens? I can take over Cleo's responsibilities until further notice."

"I'm pretty good at multi-tasking." Eddy smiled viciously as he gave a quick look to Daring. "Got any problem with this, Charmless?"

"I mean," The prince hesitated as he looked into the other boy's manic eyes. "I don't have a problem with it personally, but I can't speak for Headmaster Grimm. I don't think he'd approve of this."

"Daring." The sing-song voice coming from Apple made everyone pause for a second as everyone looked at her. Her head was tilted to the side and she had little smile on her face that everyone had to admit was adorable. The doe eyes she used on the prince did not help matters one bit. "Grimm doesn't necessarily _have _to know about all of this. I mean, as long as Raven approves, I'd say we're all within our right here." She tilted her head to the side a little more, a lipstick colored smile turning upwards even wider. "Telling him would be unnecessary."

Daring gulped, the power of the puppy dog eyes compelling him easily. "Maybe I won't say anything. He doesn't really need to know anyway." After he said it, he shook his head and attempted to toughen up. "I can't delay the inspection, though. You only have a few days. I'd suggest making them count." He turned around, mission forgotten as he attempted to leave with the final word.

Apple only smiled and faced the surprised looks of the other teens, ignoring them for the time being. "Since everything appears to be settled right now, I would suggest we start planning things out in our dorms. I appreciate the attitude involving to get everything done, but I think we should plan things out on our own before committing." She paused and held out her hand. "Your phone, please?"

Eddy numbly gave it to her, not fully registering it until she gave it back with her number in it. "This is to make sure that we stay in contact during the planning stages. I expect to hear some ideas during the initial meeting tomorrow and any suggestions too." She moved down the path to the school.

Very headstrong, Eddy decided, mulling over the past few minutes. The others moved past him as he messed with his MirrorPhone a bit more, looking it over as he went to the contacts list. He found Apple White's number, her name accompanied by an emoji of an apple beside it. It wasn't very subtle, but something told him that wasn't her style.

A wordless look with Double D helped portray his dread at having to work with her, especially after seeing that display of cutesy manipulation. Working directly with her was going to be a nightmare.

Double D only shrugged in response, a smile on his face that looked way too cheeky right now. "At least you got a girls number." He said before moving ahead, laughing to himself as he joined the others.

That honestly did nothing to make him feel better.

* * *

**Eddy may be getting out of character at times, but I think it's fine for the story. He did spend almost ten years with a nerd, so he's bound to get some skills out of it. Of course, everyone should be terrified if he makes it to his goal. He should probably also stop taking everything as a challenge, but what are you going to do?**

**Hope this chapter was good and all! I'll see you all within the next few weeks with the next one.**


	9. Bureaucracy is Terrible

**Another chapter up and running! Hope you all think it was worth the wait. I sometimes have a little trouble ending these things in a way I like, but at least there's only one more chapter left until the canon stuff begins. I feel almost giddy about it, even if it's going to be difficult to balance episodes/arcs out.**

**On an unrelated note; if any of you ever think about or have actually written something based on this fanfiction, I would like to see it! I don't think it's reached that type of status at all, but I do wonder if anyone has had the thought before. If you wonder about writing something about or close to this fic, you have my permission as long as you credit me. I feel egotistical saying that, but the offer stands.**

**Also, I might be putting up a poll soon involving any other crossovers I might attempt after I get one of the fanfictions I'm working on done and I'll announce when it's up.**

**Now, let's get on with the show!**

* * *

Eddy had years of experience juggling responsibilities, so he could honestly say that he was doing a good job at this point. Looking through forms and audition tapes was not something he would consider fun, but it wasn't too difficult since some of them were pretty standard stuff. Also, having a MirrorPad was a godsend if anything, since he was being updated on current plans for the stage in real time.

Of course, just because it wasn't hard doesn't mean it wasn't boring.

"Okay, how many forms do I have to sign to get a stinking concert permit?!" Eddy swore that if he figured out time travel, he'd punch the guy who invented bureaucracy as a concept. This was the fifteenth thing he had to sign off on today and his hands were begging to wear out from all the repeated strain. The bright colors of the classroom they were given to do their business in was also hurting his eyes. "Seriously, who even thought of this system? There's a simpler way to do this and it probably kills fewer trees."

"It's the orderly way to do it." Apple didn't seem bothered by Eddy's complaining, filing away the forms into an orderly fashion. "It's not necessarily quick, but it does make sure we have our bases covered. Legal stuff, mostly."

"They could at least put all this stuff into one form or something." The boy added his signature to another page, shuffling it off into his own disorganized pile. "It'd save on printer ink or something."

"That it would." The princess nodded sagely, grabbing both of their piles and putting them away for later. "I think it's about time to take a break from this and go through some auditions. I personally liked the Hex Girls, but there's a lack of bands to choose from in the Legends department that we need to sort out."

"That's because nobody at this school knows how to party." Eddy grumbled to himself, getting up to grab a portable television to put in front of their desks.

Apple was connecting her MirrorPad to it, taking a brief look at Eddy's. "How are the plans coming along? It looks like you and your friends have made some decent progress despite only having a day so far."

"Both of the schools have portable stages, so that saves a lot of time." The human moved into his seat, leaning it back and putting his feet onto the table. "They're not the same size, per se, but that isn't a problem when it comes to making some adjustments. Pyrotechnics is going to have to wait until the budget is finalized and we figure out what decorations Clawdeen wants to put up."

He grabbed the MirrorPad, looking it over before sending a few notes back to his friends. "Other than that, things are going smoothly. It's been one day so far, but I don't see us slowing down at all until maybe the final couple of days."

Apple did seem to be satisfied by this, smiling as she summoned up the next few videos. "I'll admit, I expected a few setbacks from this. I've handled events like this before, but this is a different game all together." Before pressing play, she gave him a questioning look. "Though, while I'm grateful for your help, I'm surprised that you haven't considered leaving the project. I don't really see you as an activist for a cause."

The boy frowned, looking to the side. "First of all, I wouldn't jinx us just yet. Trust me, I know how easy it is." He stalled before coming up with another answer. "Besides, doesn't the whole Monsters and Legends uniting thing make sense? I've been friends with a Monster for years and I don't really get what's difficult about it."

"It's," Apple frowned before looking over the video files again. "It's a messy story. Not a lot of people like talking about it."

"Lay it on me then, Princess." The boy figured that if would save him a few minutes from doing some work, along with reconnaissance. Besides, if she was offering information, he wasn't going to turn it down.

Apple paused at that, thinking for several seconds before letting out a sigh and putting the MirrorPad down. "I'll tell you what I know, but I'd suggest getting a second opinion." She said warily.

"I'll have Ghoulia summarize it later." He waved it off, moving out of his position and leaning forward intently. He pressed a recording app on his phone to make sure he got everything.

She stared intently into his eyes before nodding and moving into a seat across from him. The princess crossed her legs and gathered her thoughts until she concocted a cohesive narrative.

"As you already know, Legends are raised to one day become the roles their ancestors played before them. Am I correct in that assumption?" Apple didn't have to take more than a second to see Eddy's 'well, duh' expression to continue. "Well, a very long time ago, after the war with humans, Monsters were an active part of that tradition.

"Admittedly, very few Monsters had their own stories of their own, mostly relegated to bit parts. Henchmen if you want to be specific. It wasn't glamorous, but still one part of a grand scheme that needed to work cohesively." The princess paused, looking down at her hands. "Well, to say the least, not every one of them were thrilled to be only known as the bad guys. Some Monsters even rebelled against the idea.

"Predictably, none of the Legends liked the idea that Monsters wanted to separate themselves from the tradition as old as time. No one knows what happens when a role isn't played in a story, or what happens if it's never told at all, so it made plenty of people nervous too. Tensions rose as governments made laws and representatives argued amongst themselves."

"I'm guessing war was a popular topic." Eddy interrupted. It was easy to follow the line of logic going on, but he hadn't read about any second big war. Though it seemed like they would've come close.

"Plenty of it." Apple frowned, shaking her head. "However, no one actually wanted to _go_ to war over it since the last one ended with complete devastation; many monster species were allowed to go. Since most didn't really play a part, it was considered the only option that wouldn't end in another conflict. Most left, but some species such as ogres and goblins stayed behind. Neither side has been the same since."

Eddy gave his own frown. "Didn't that happen a long time ago? Seems kinda' stupid to keep on hating each other."

Apple shrugged. She didn't necessarily care for the conflict either. However… "It was a large fundamental change to our society, and it happened right after another one that drove all of us into hiding. It was adding salt to a nasty wound." She pressed play on the audition tapes and the television.

Eddy attempted to hide his disappointment and turned off the recorder. Moving back into his previous seating position, his mind went over the facts. He was supposed to help with _this _mess? A concert would be a good start, but it wasn't going to fix hundreds of years of infighting overnight. Maybe he'd help over the year, but it wasn't going to be magically helped by him and his friends alone.

That wasn't getting into the possible motives of the others.

"Hey, Princess?" Eddy started, grabbing the girl's attention. "Why exactly did you agree to this then?"

Apple smiled innocently, though he didn't trust it for a second. "I want to bring both sides back together when I become queen."

What that entailed, he wasn't entirely sure.

Unfortunately, to the great annoyance of the occupants, the classroom door was thrown open as a dirty and very annoyed Cleo De Nile walked in with a great huff, followed by a significantly less bothered Raven.

"Next time I'm asked to organize an event, I'm going to be in charge of things. The dirty work can be done by the servants for all I care." She muttered, grabbing a water bottle off the table and drinking half of it in a few long gulps. Slamming it down onto the table, she pointed at Eddy with her arm trembling in anger. "You _definitely _will be doing the heavy lifting."

"Something wrong, Queenie?" He said cheekily, smirk playing onto his lips. "Cause I'm pretty sure if you're supposed to clean off after taking a mud bath."

"She set off one of the traps while she was messing with her magic!" The mummy pointed at Raven, who raised her hands in front of herself defensively.

"Hey, sometimes my spells can backfire. I've been on a roll with my magic lately, so it was bound to bounce back on us." The sorceress huffed and leaned back onto the door. "Besides, I've apologized so many times already. Most people would've let it go by now."

"Most people don't wear expensive dresses worth more than an average person's mortgage." Cleo drank the rest of the water, before throwing it into the trash can. "At least that's one tunnel down. The other four can wait until later."

"Good to know. If you want, you can use some of the showers in the girl's locker room, the gym is only a few doors down. Maybe you can help us narrow down on some candidates afterward." Apple offered, only receiving a nod from the mummy before she shuffled out of the room.

"I really don't envy anyone that has to go to school with her." Raven muttered, shaking her head before taking a seat next to the other two. "She may be good at finding traps, but I don't think I've ever heard someone complain as much as she does."

Eddy winced sympathetically. "Sorry about that. Figured you two would be best for the job and all but I forget to mention she could be really insufferable when she's cranky. Which is all the time."

"I'm sure she's a lot nicer than we think." Apple mediated but did have one thing to say about this. "She does have a tendency to take charge from what I can tell, though. Which isn't that bad of a trait." She shrunk slightly at their deadpan stares. "Sometimes."

Eddy rolled his eyes and decided to change the conversation. "So, Ray, what's the progress report looking like? Queenie did say you got one hallway cleared and it sounds like it might be knocked out within the week if everything keeps going."

"Pretty much." Raven grabbed her own water out of her bag and took a big gulp. "Two of them are actually pretty short, so we can probably get this done in three days. We'll probably check it over a couple more times, just in case. Grimm hasn't caught on yet, so we might get away with it unless he decides to move up the inspection."

"Doubtful." Apple watched a juggler on the television screen, already planning to send a letter of rejection that would sound the most encouraging. "He's busy preparing for the school year, so he isn't paying too close attention."

"I didn't say he wasn't already becoming a pain in our sides." Raven sighed. She pulled out an envelope and pushed it over to Eddy, who grabbed it. While he was opening it, she continued to talk. "He wasn't exactly fond of the fact that we seemingly started this so fast and I think it got him a little rattled. Especially when it came to us using an outside venue for the concert."

"What did he do?" Apple paused the video and gave her a questioning look.

Raven gave a nervous smile at this. "He made things difficult for us."

"Are you kidding me?!" Eddy slammed the paper onto the table, causing them both to jump at the sudden bout of anger. "I knew bureaucracy was evil!"

* * *

Back in Monster High, the others were more or less having their own difficulties as they coordinated their efforts.

Double D and Clawdeen were expertly sewing up some of the werewolf's commissions, making them to completion. They coordinated their efforts as they moved about, checking their own designs for the stage and adjusting whenever it was needed.

Meanwhile, Ed, Ghoulia, and Maddie were making sure to check over the technical aspects of the changes, along with determining what ideas could get passed. Ed and Maddie were talking a mile a minute while spouting ideas, while Ghoulia was determining their viability and how well it would go over with the staff.

As for Cerise…

She was feeling left out.

"I'm not sure why you guys brought me here." Cerise was watching all of the chaos happen around her and feeling a little useless right now. "I found the place, but it doesn't seem like you actually need me for anything."

"Au contraire, Cerise." Double D put down the latest creation in the ongoing pile that practically grew every minute or so. "It's still important that you be here so that anything we do at the concert doesn't permanently effect the environment. Since you know the area better, it would be a good idea to have your input."

"I get that, but the last time those three asked for input was thirty minutes ago." She pointed at the three rapidly talking teens with a raised eyebrow. "I'd help with the sewing if I actually knew anything about it and I have no idea how to mess with mechanics."

"You could model for me." Clawdeen raised an incomplete dress, moving it in front of her. "It'd help make sure the measurements are right for some of them."

Cerise frowned, shrinking away. "Sorry, I'm a little attached to my own aesthetic, thank you."

"It's true." Maddie's voice rang out, leaning back into her seat. "No one has seen Cerise without her hood before and you'd sooner divert a river from its course than take it off."

_"That would be so much more profound if it wasn't talking about clothing."_ Ghoulia mumbled to herself, counting up the scale and numbers involved with the planning. She switched over to her phone seconds later. _"It can't be healthy to have that hood on you for too long. It's hard to quantify exactly how well that would affect Vitamin D production if sunlight doesn't reach your hair."_

"I let it out of the hood occasionally." Cerise squirmed at the needling from the zombie, not looking anybody in the yes. "I just don't take it off in front of people. It isn't that weird."

"She's got a point." Ed was just moving stuff around on his EyePad while he talked, not looking up from it. "Double D never takes his hat off and he seems fine."

Everyone gave a look to the hatted Ed boy, who only nervously smiled. "It's not that big of a deal." He said placatingly, avoiding the questioning looks he received. "It's not liking I'm hiding anything."

"Saying that doesn't help your case, buddy." Clawdeen made a silent vow to get that hat off of him if it was the last thing she would do but decided to wait it out for now. "Weird fashion choices aside, maybe you could start trying to figure out what could be out there that could interrupt the show. I know the place is kinda an animal repellent, but who knows if anyone decides to wander off."

Cerise raised an eyebrow but let it down as she started to think it through. "You got a point there. I have a good idea what's out there already, so that shouldn't be difficult." She pulled out her MirrorPhone and started to type away. "Bear mace would be good investment for the guard. I hope they don't have to use it, but it's better than going at them with swords."

_"You don't think they'll come with those, right? It might make some of the Monsters uncomfortable if that occurs."_ Ghoulia asked, fidgeting with her phone. _"It would be understandable if it was to keep back wildlife, but that might drive off some people from attending the concert."_

"Is that really a problem?" Double D asked. "I'm assuming there's a history behind it if there is."

Clawdeen looked ready to answer, but Maddie humped in before she could. "There's been one to many incidents where the guard tend to jump the gun and bring out weapons when dealing with Monsters." She said carefully, looking at Ed and the monsters in the room. "It's usually not warranted, so it kind of sets up a very dark narrative for both sides, especially if any Monster has to conduct business on the Legend side of things."

"Surprisingly, she's got a point." Clawdeen shrugged, face twisting into a grimace. "My brother had to get some stuff done on the other side of the fence and got harassed by some of the older guard members. Said a few of the trainees stopped it, but he hasn't gone back since. I'm surprised we weren't stopped on the way to that coffee shop the other day."

"That's disturbing." Double D was already making some uncomfortable parallels in his mind that he figured wouldn't be good to say out loud. "Maybe we can get some of the trainees to work on the concert then? We could frame it as a training exercise and see where that takes us."

_"That's if Headmaster Grimm allows that. Something tells me he'd make it more difficult than it should be and that we would only face several metaphorical roadblocks."_ Ghoulia typed, sending a sympathetic look his way. _"Though, we appreciate the effort."_

"It's not a proper party if everyone's unhappy about something." Maddie laid down on the couch next to Cerise, propping her feet up onto the end of one. She patted the top of Cerise's hood and smiled at the embarrassed look she gave her.

"Seems like it's only putting a Band-Aid on a stab wound though." Clawdeen shoulders slouched, ears dropping. "Honestly, the concert feels like that entirely. I get _why_ Bloodgood wants to do this, but I really don't think it'll help that much."

"A fair assumption." Double D put down the latest dress gently, not looking anyone in the eye. He wasn't exactly sure how to deal with any of this, but he was doing his best. "However, it is one step forward, which is better than deciding not to move forward at all."

"Yeah, that's just defeatist. Imagine if they hadn't decided to build Rome in a day? Then we wouldn't have the Coliseum!" Ed said confidently, despite the strange looks he was given for it.

"That's just an expression, Ed, they didn't actually build Rome in a day." Double D tiredly replied, grabbing the materials for the next dress on the roster.

"Oh." Ed wilted for a second before shooting up and gaining a determined look on his face. "I still have a point!"

_"We get it, Ed. Maybe just try a different turn of phrase next time." _Ghoulia patted him on the back before looking at the rest of them. _"Let's change the subject. How far are you on your commissions right now, Clawdeen?"_

"Still slow going, but we're making headway. Maybe I won't have to pull a few all nighters to get ahead this year." She looked over the list she had, counting out some of the ones they finished. "Of course, I'm going with the simpler stuff first. Anything more complicated is going to be last. Hopefully those clients aren't impatient."

"Depends on how rich they are. The customers with the more expensive orders are usually the ones that will complain the loudest if something doesn't go their way." Maddie poked Cerise in the side. "Remember that one guy that tried not to pay while you were in the tea shoppe?"

"I dumped a pot of cold tea on his head." Cerise chuckled. "He was yelling about how the stains would never come out for nearly an hour before the guard dragged him out."

"It would've been hilarious if his behavior wasn't so sad." The two kept laughing and were joined by the others in the room shortly after. It was a good way to uplift them after a particularly depressing subject.

"While it's nice to hear that no one is going to take anyone's attitude," Double D shifted himself to face Clawdeen. "How's the progress with our own outfits as of now? It's alright if you need to take your time since you have a large workload."

"It's going pretty well, all considering." She moved some of the current designs they worked on online. "I'll make sure they're done before the concert, but I was glad to get the input. I hope you guys like it."

"I certainly appreciate some of the adjustments you made for mine." He flitted through them happily, appreciating the amount of work that was put into them. "I know some of them seem odd, but they're there for a reason."

"I didn't even think up of half of the things for mine until you showed me." Ed was the most excited for the wardrobe change, a sentiment extended to his friends as well. He honestly didn't really care what he wore, but it looked like the werewolf was putting her best efforts into it.

"Good to hear. Still don't know why need that illusion cloth on yours, though." She said, giving the hatted Ed boy a cursory once over. "I mean, I can take the extra workload from it and I'll add it to your 'tab,' but it seems kind of wasteful."

"Wait, how'd you get illusion cloth? That's way too expensive for someone who just got here." Cerise moved up from her position, disturbing Maddie from hers. "Sorry, Mads. But the question still stands and all."

"We did a favor for a tailor downtown who had a surplus." Ed said fondly before he shrugged. "I still don't know how that snake got into that sink with his wedding ring, but it was fun."

_"You say the weirdest things sometimes and I really do hope that doesn't change in the future."_ Ghoulia chuckled. A ding on her phone caused her to stop typing out another response, causing her forehead to crinkle a little bit. She opened up the message, eyes browsing over it suspiciously.

"Something wrong?" Clawdeen noticed the slight tensing of her friend's face, abandoning her work and moving to her friends' side.

_"Cleo just texted me."_ The zombie solemnly typed out, a tight grimace on her face. _"Eddy is apparently arguing with Headmaster Grimm."_

A groan could be heard from Double D immediately.

* * *

"Edward, I do ask that you keep your volume down-"

"I'll keep it down when we figure out just what your problem is!"

Everyone that had been at Monster High hoped that Eddy wouldn't cause a scene, but that was quickly dashed after walking in and watching a shouting match unfold in the office. Eddy and Grimm were standing at opposite sides of the desk, staring each other down with fierce glares. Apple was trying to calm the two down with no success, with Raven and Cleo watching from the back. The sorceress looked like she was supportive, though worried about the outcome, while the mummy simply watched with a raised eyebrow.

"I simply can't put the resources in at this time. You can still use the stage, but the manpower cannot be assigned until then." Grimm insisted, his attempt at remaining calm somewhat ruined by the tense look on his face. "If you can't find another way, then that really isn't my problem."

"It wouldn't be a problem at all if you didn't try to stall us!" Eddy was not making any attempt to remain calm as he pointed directly into the headmaster's chest with a glare. "I know that Daring and his goon squad aren't doing anything right now, so you're just making us wait because of your own issues."

"Glad to see you guys made it." Raven said, giving them quick glance. "I'd say I regret giving Eddy the news, but Grimm kind of had it coming."

"Your friend has no fear about being expelled, does he?" Cleo found the situation extremely amusing, though she wasn't sure how it would play out with everyone here. "I'm surprised he hasn't blown a fuse at this point. Does he ever stop yelling?'

"Not until the chickens come home." Ed shook his head, even if the statement didn't necessarily make sense.

"Apple doesn't seem to have a lid on the situation just yet, a rare thing for her." Maddie moved to Raven cautiously. "What's got him all riled up?"

"We have permission to use the stage from the Ever After High set, but he isn't providing any manual support that would let us actually move it to where we want to go." The sorceress looked worriedly at her roommate, who looked extremely lost when it came to calm the situation down. "As much as I'd like to use my magic, I've never lifted or teleported anything that big before. And those stages are heavy enough that I don't think all of us will be able to lift it on our own without some mechanical help."

"My servants would do short work of it, but my artifact that allows me to summon them has been confiscated for now." Cleo flicked off some more dirt from her dress. She hadn't had the time to get into the shower before this and she was lamenting it since she could _feel_ the stains settling in.

"Great." Double D said, a higher pitch to his voice. "Just what we needed. This was going too well; I should have just expected this." He shook his head fiercely, grabbing Ed with him as he walked to the headmaster's desk. "I'll see if I can calm him down."

As they did so, they couldn't help but overhear Apple trying to get the two to calm themselves, though it was drowned out by their argument. She didn't dare raise her voice further.

"Look, maybe we can come to a compromise about this. It's not like there's-" She noticed the approaching boys and waved at them to come over. "Thank goodness, can you please calm them down? I haven't been able to get a single word in since they started fighting and I don't know how long they're going to keep going."

Double D gave her a nod before moving beside Eddy, letting Ed moved to the other side. They bumped into him, knocking him out of his rhythm. He looked between the two and sighed deeply before glaring up at Headmaster Grimm.

"Isn't the point of your whole job to make things easier on _your_ students?" Eddy gripped at the table with white knuckles. Just what the heck was this guy's problem? The short Ed boy knew that he wasn't the favorite of any type of teacher, but that usually didn't extend to other students unless they were seen as active cohorts.

"I am not trying to hinder anybody's progress here, Mr. Edward." Grimm said unconvincingly, the haughty tone only adding to Eddy's irritation. "Daring's team is simply dealing with other, more important matters that need immediate attention."

"I'm sure that his company is doing exactly that, Headmaster Grimm." Double D started, stopping the immediate sarcastic comment coming from his friend. "But that does put us in a bind here. Are you sure there isn't any other way? Putting off some of their assignments is non-negotiable, I'm sure."

"Unfortunately, that is true." Grimm fixed his stare on him, though it felt more like a glare. "They do important work that cannot be put off for anything and Daring himself will lead the people, so it's a valuable exercise all around."

"Why does it say that they've been given a few days off from you so they could rest up for the bookball games coming up this year?" Ed had somehow grabbed a report off the headmaster's desk and was reading through it with a critical eye. It was quickly snatched away by Grimm before he could read it further.

"As I was saying," Grimm started, stuffing the paper away. "It isn't like I'm actually preventing any of you from doing your work. If anything, this should be taken as a test of character that you should overcome."

"Test of character?!" The two Eds decided to pull Eddy away from the desk, making sure he didn't damage anything within his reach. He struggled, of course, but it was utterly futile when he had to deal with the amount of muscle that was Ed.

The girls were a little nervous about the situation, especially since Eddy failed to make any progress smoothing things over with the headmaster first. Of course, it was probably very easy to fix as long as they kept level heads, but it was annoying to say the least.

"It seems like the plot thickens ever more." Maddie said, tapping her foot on the floor. "I'm sure there's something we could do about this, but none of my Wonderlandian friends are present to provide their help."

"You really think Cheshire would help us if it didn't involve messing with someone?" Cerise raised an eyebrow. "Plus, I don't think Lizzie actually likes us well enough to actually lend a hand either?"

"She's a softie once you get past to know her." The Wonderlandian defended. "I did also say they wouldn't be here to help us anyway. Anyone else have any ideas?"

Everyone else shook their heads no. They didn't look each other in the eyes as disappointment fell onto them, weighing them down. The Ed's couldn't help but feel that too, though Double D sent a look the stubborn headmaster's way and felt something in his gut twist.

"I might have a solution." Double D raised his hands in front of him cautiously before they could say anything, face pensive. "It might take the rest of today and tomorrow to finish, but I could get something functioning. Maybe Eddy as well, depending on what progress is made."

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" Clawdeen crossed her arms and gave him raised eyebrow. "This isn't exactly a one-man job."

"It will be when I get the project finished in time." Double D walked off, followed closely by his friends behind him. The girls gave each other confused looks before determining that it would be a good idea to just pack up for today. They had other stuff to do before the break ends.

Most likely it would be fine.

* * *

It had been several days later and while some more progress was made on the project as a whole, the problem itself hadn't been fully resolved. In many ways, this wasn't fine.

The Ed's had kept up with most of their work, sending updates out to everyone on the design of the stage and the building materials that would be needed. Ghoulia kept track of the logistical nightmare that involved their pyrotechnics, Apple received many different reports on auditions and paperwork from Eddy during the week, and Ed provided his own ideas in the interim. Traps were still getting disabled in the castle and other responsibilities were also taken care of.

However, no had actually _seen _the Ed's in days. Until one of the girls received a text from Double D.

"So, you just a random text from the smart one to meet us at Ever After High with absolutely no explanation and no idea as to what he wants." Cerise questioned Maddie, who was skipping ahead with a smile on her face.

"He said he needed someone to hold the door for him while he got the stage out of storage." She replied simply, moving to doors leaning against them casually. "Apparently he found a way to get it out of there without any need for help."

"Sounds surprisingly cocky. He does seem like the type of guy that has a plan, though, so it's probably going to work out just fine." Clawdeen moved to stand beside Maddie, surveying the area. "All three of them are really weird though. They've rolled with the punches pretty well so far, but they are kinda' strange when you think about it."

"You and I have very different description for what's considered strange then." Maddie replied, giving a shrug. "They seem to be doing their best, for what it's worth. This is a whole new environment for them to get used to and it's pretty sink or swim."

"You both got a point," Cerise looked relaxed, but her voice was wary. "But you'd think they had some kind of exposure to this type of stuff _before_ coming here. Everything seems completely new to them."

Clawdeen cringed at that. "They did say that their families were trying to blend in. I'm starting to wonder how much they subscribed to that idea and it doesn't seem to have turned out well."

A sigh was heard, surprisingly from Maddie as she had a wistful look on her face. "I've seen that a lot since I had to come to Ever After. So many families…" The hatted girl twirled a lock of hair absentmindedly.

It was Cerise's turn to cringe, who looked away from the saddened look on her face. "Sorry, Mads. Didn't mean to remind you of that."

"It's alright." The pink haired girl straightened out immediately before looking at Clawdeen with a glimmer in her eye that seemed to show some steel. "I'd give them some time. Letting them adjust and add to their worldview is good for them but erasing their past or questioning why they don't know things will be harmful in the long run. Are we clear?"

The werewolf in front of the mad girl had to suppress a shudder at the command and gave a shaky nod.

Maddie instantly turned bright and cheery once again. "Excellent." She pulled out her MirrorPhone and started to text around and checking up on the others.

Clawdeen sent a Look over to Cerise to figure out just what the heck that was about, but only got a shrug in response. She was going to have to figure that stuff out later, she guessed.

Of course, any other musing was interrupted when Headmaster Grimm was seen running over the hill towards the building. He wasn't doing it very gracefully either, since he was clearly running out of breath and red in the face. He stopped only a couple of steps away from the building, hands on his knees has his breath came back to him slowly.

Cerise, despite enjoying the scene, was the tiniest bit concerned. "Headmaster Grimm? Is everything alright?"

"It looks like you've running across the school." Clawdeen raised an eyebrow. "Obviously within an inch of your life too."

"Don't sass me child." He said carefully between breaths, before attempting to stand up. He was still red in the face due to the physical exertion taking its toll on his body. "Look, can one of you please tell Mr. Eddward to stop right now?"

"What's Double D doing that's got you all riled up?" The werewolf asked, sending a fanged smile his way. "He doesn't seem like the trouble making type."

"It's probably due to that." Maddie said calmly, pointing off into the direction behind the man. The other two girls looked and tensed immediately at what they saw.

Double D, sporting a ridiculously large grin, was moving down the hill with confident aura around him. That wouldn't be too unusual if he had been using his feet to do so. Instead, he was using what looked like four metal, tentacle like appendages that came from his back that moved him downward. Made of a sleek, silver-like metal, he stepped down onto the ground below him and gave a smile to the freaked out faces of everyone around him.

"I hope I haven't kept anyone waiting." He said casually, moving towards them with his hands in his pockets. "I was just making some final tests before getting here."

"Don't worry about it." Clawdeen said, blinking a couple of times. "Mind explaining what the heck that stuff is?"

"Octo-arms. They're powered by cursed gems, if you're wondering." The boy turned around to show the device on his back containing the gems. About seven gems were stored within a modified metal pack. A current of blue lightning flowed between them and flowed outward into the metal arms connected to it. "I figured something had to be done make them useful."

"Oh, cool design!" Maddie hopped all around him to check the device out, messing with the arms and looking closely at the gems inside. "I really love the Doc Ock look you decided to add to it. Cosplayers would be so jealous!"

"You got that right." Double D gave her a high five before turning to the headmaster. "If my calculations are correct, this should be able to fix our problem with ease. I can easily say you can deny our request with a clear conscience."

"But your 'equipment' could be dangerous! Most people need licenses to operate forklifts!" Grimm argued, waving his hands around himself. "If anything, I should make sure you _don't_ use this inside the building."

"I don't know of any forms of licenses that require me to operate metal, tentacle arms." Double D shrugged. "I understand where you're coming from, but what I'm doing here is completely legal, if only because there's no laws to stop me. If you'll excuse me…" The hatted Ed boy started heading for the doors, the metal arms retracting behind him as he moved.

Cerise hastily opened the doors and propped them open, mouth still attempting to create words. Eventually, she just started laughing and pulled out her MirrorPhone to take a video. "Raven's going to love this!" She continued laughing as all of them went inside.

Headmaster Grimm stood out there, sputtering before letting out a frustrated squeal.

Those boys! They were going to be the death of him, he just knew it!

* * *

**If anyone's curious why Double D seems to sassy, especially to an authority figure, just remember; he follows the rules posted, not the ones implied. Also, Grimm is not someone worth his respect, but he hasn't figured that out yet.**

**Remember, keep spoilers in the reviews to a minimum and I'll see you all next chapter!**


	10. 10 Celebrating New Beginnings

**Hello everyone, I hope you're all having a good time. This chapter finally brings an end to the Prep Arc and soon we'll be going at the canon stuff in short order. Hopefully you'll enjoy the change and we'll all stick together while we move forward.**

**Also, a quick word about some of the real world stuff going on. If you don't want to read anything about the real world stuff right now, feel free to get on with the story. Otherwise, continue reading this note.**

**I hope that everyone out there is healthy right now and that you're making sure to stay clean during this epidemic. While the Coronavirus is probably not something that will cause a lot of devastation, it is important not to spread it for the safety of the young and the elderly. Make sure to wash your hands and to not freak out about the situation while it develops. As long as you do that and can hopefully get treated if you do somehow get it, everything about this should blow over and the year can be as good as we want it to be.**

**Other than that, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Eddy knew that he wasn't really scientist, but he felt like he was becoming one each time he made more progress on his little invention.

The suit had been slow going at first, but it felt like he was going to be finished with it very soon. When he wasn't working on that concert, he was mainly focusing on this. He was determined to have it finished before the school year began and he was pretty close to finishing the design.

The glove had evolved into a suit that would to his basic frame, extending to both arms and part of his back. The base of it had to be widened considerably to hold on to eleven gems, all arranged in a pattern that might help the magical current that would sort through it (it was only a guess at this point). The first six were arranged in a hexagon, the smallest on the outside surrounding a diamond shape made of four larger gems. In the center was a bright blue one that was essentially the most powerful if his readings were right.

It was similar to Double D's set up when it came to his octo-arms, except he went with an octagon with a singular gem inside it. It was enough to power it without actually overloading the device itself.

Eddy was actually making the final adjustments to it when Double D apparently decided to surprise him by using his own.

"Eddy?" said a voice from above him, causing him to jump out of his seat. Looking up from his position on the floor, he saw Double D looking slightly embarrassed as he watched from his position above him. "Sorry, I was about to ask you where one of the wrenches are."

"Maybe don't ask while you're on the ceiling then!" Eddy hadn't mean to shout, but he was running on three hours of sleep at this point and his friend rubbing the success in his invention in his face wasn't helping things. Rubbing his eyes, he narrowed them at the boy on the ceiling. "You don't have to flaunt your little cosplay, Sockhead, I'm pretty sure carrying that stage was a pretty good debut for it already."

"Sorry." To the hatted boy's credit, he did look pretty embarrassed. "The effect of this hasn't worn off for me yet." He moved down to ground smoothly, smile present on his face. "You have to admit, this is pretty amazing that we could build something like this."

"Yeah, but we can marvel over it until I can get my thing to work." The short Ed boy glared at the suit before getting up himself. "I'm almost finished, and I think I got the right amount of power for it, but I won't know until I can test it later."

"I'm just happy we were able to come up with these so fast." Double D was delighted with the inventiveness they'd shown thus far and hope that it would be something that continued until later. "It looks like we'll be able to pull this off fairly well with little issue. Any idea how you're going to explain your 'new' magical core, by the by?"

"I'll just say that I knew I had magic, but I wasn't able to use it that often at home." He shrugged, taking off the gloves for now. "It isn't like they'll be able to check on that. We've been giving that excuse so far, why stop now?"

"I suppose consistency is something that we need to practice while we're conducting this scam." Double D retracted the metal arms into the device on his back, a frown appearing on his face. "I do worry that we're setting up a bad narrative though."

"The heck are you talking about?" Eddy turned around and leaned onto the table with a raised eyebrow. "Consistency is the best part about all of this. We need to make sure there's no holes in the story."

"Yes," Double D said with trepidation in his voice. "However, with how often they we talk about how we weren't told anything about our 'heritage,' I'm afraid we might be presenting our parents as abusive, which would only invite more questions."

Eddy waved it off with a roll of his eyes, turning back to the project and started to put it away. "You're worrying too much, I'm pretty sure they won't jump to that. It's fairy tale land, nothing bad ever happens here."

"I don't think you understand." The smart Ed boy felt irritation seep into him at the casual dismissal. "I'm glad that the lies we're coming up with are consistent, but these are real people, Eddy. They're going to assume something went on when we lived at home, which will lead to questions."

"Fine." The short Ed boy set down his tools loudly, turning abruptly towards his friend. "We'll come up with better. I'll just say my magic came in late or something and I've been trying to catch up. Happy?"

Double D shrank back at the aggression, though he nodded firmly. "That's acceptable." It seemed to sooth his friends temper, who went back to his work at the table quietly.

"Not like they'd be far off anyway." Eddy mumbled, thinking Double D couldn't hear it. His friend did but decided not to comment since that would only dredge up another fight that neither of them were willing to deal with right now.

Thankfully, even though it wasn't on purpose, Ed deescalated things by barging into the conversation and their workshop.

"Guys!" He ran in and grabbed the two into his arms, shaking them with intensity. "Daring and the rest of crew are doing the investigation, we got to get there."

"Charmless is going to make a fool of himself?" Eddy felt his spirits lighten immediately at that, a crooked smile moving onto his face. "Count me in. They already start?"

"Yeah, so we got to move now!" He picked them both up, running with them out the door without consulting them.

"Ed, wait, we need to clean up the shop!" Double D said futilely as he was dragged away, Eddy laughing along with the chaos.

* * *

Admittedly, when the Eds got to the ruined castle, the fun was lost a little bit after feeling the tense atmosphere surrounding it. Everyone else had arrived at a timely manner, but it was mostly because some of them didn't have much else to do since most of their work for the concert was finished.

The finances and logistics were finished by Ghoulia and Cleo not that long ago after the Ed's finalized their designs. They made sure that most of the additions to the makeshift stages were affordable and able to function, with a lot of the budget being used to invest in other areas such as Maddie's catering, which had largely gone off without a hitch.

The auditions had been sorted through eventually by Eddy and Apple, with Raven even being able to add her two cents when she could. Some acts had to be dropped due to various reasons, but they were able to come up with a decent set of rock bands that would keep people entertained. It was general enough to apply to everyone's taste and any effects they asked for were put to the test by the Ed's whenever it was needed.

As for the stage itself, it had turned out better than most would've thought.

Since there would be a lot of shifting parts, the stage was kept minimalist in nature. Set pieces were behind some curtains thrown up to make sure each band had their own theme to themselves. However, the backdrop to the scene was made of swirls of differing shades, going from black and blue to white and gold. As long as the lightshow went off without a hitch, the colors would appear to change with the right timing and the right amount of lighting.

Of course, all that work could possibly mean nothing if the inspection of the castle was considered a failure. Something that everyone was wishing that it wouldn't be considered one.

It was a stressful time that was only compounded by the work they put in, something that Cleo did not help in the slightest with her complaining.

"How long does it take an entire platoon to inspect one castle?" Cleo was filing down her nails and watching the group go to work with a bored expression. "It isn't exactly that large. It can even be considered cozy for a normal castle."

"They are trying to make sure there's no immediate danger within the area, so it's better that they're thorough." Apple did her best to explain, trying to calm the irritation of the mummy. She looked to Raven quickly. "You two did get every trap that was within there, correct?"

"Yeah, we checked the building three separate times." Raven shrugged, foot tapping on the ground. "There no physical traps Cleo didn't spot, and no magical ones are there anymore. As far as we know, it's clean."

"_Hopefully that will turn out to be the case."_ Ghoulia counted up something in her head, nodding, and continued. _"It would turn out to be very costly if we had to change venues all of a sudden. I'd hate to see all the hard work the boys did go to waste."_

"I know, right?" Maddie huffed. "Me and my dad spent hours preparing what exactly we'd serve at the concert tonight and it'd just be wasted inventory. We had to eat cakes for a week after this one client canceled on us." A giddy grin moved onto her face. "It was a good week though."

"I've scouted a couple of places, just in case. I have an idea where we can go next, but I'd need help rounding up animals to get away from the scene." Cerise looked to the others with skeptical eyes. "I could try to get Daring and his goons to take over keeping people back, but like I said, they aren't allowed to have swords."

"That won't be a problem." Clawdeen didn't look too worried, though her exhaustion was palpable. Maddie had already set her up with a caffeine fix hours ago and was starting to get used to that fact. "I can smell the boys coming here, by the way, so it'd be a good idea to maybe lay off the concerns. I'm pretty sure they all have anxiety about this already."

"What do they smell like?" Maddie asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

"As a group? Metal and ink." She shrugged, sticking her tongue out at the hatter. "Hard to say how they smell individually, though."

As if on cue, the three were seen running down the trail, Ed carrying the other two with gusto as they approached. Stopping at the gathered group, Ed caught his breath as his collaborators moved off of him and moved towards the rest.

"Good evening everyone, I hope that you've all had a good day so far." Double D started politely, pretending like he wasn't just carried here like a sack. "I suppose things are going well so far with the inspection."

"I don't see Charmless around like his butts on fire, so we're probably fine." Eddy casually moved up, frowning. "Hopefully he isn't petty like Headmaster Grimm. I really don't want to deal with two of them."

"Oh, there's no need to worry about that." Apple waved off the concern literally and figuratively. "I've known Daring for years and he's more accepting than you think he is. He does have his own skills too."

"What, you have a crush on the guy too?" Eddy attempted to tease but was disappointed to get a noncommittal shrug. "I'm just saying, nobody acts like he does unless he has some agenda to it. That pompous attitude doesn't exactly bring up any good thoughts either."

"I can't say I think he's a good guy either, but you're not totally wrong." Raven chuckled, leaning forward to faux whisper to him. "He's kind known as the school womanizer for a reason."

"Why am I not surprised?" Clawdeen rolled her eyes, looking over Double D. "I'm guessing Ed dragged you guys out of the workshop?"

"Yes, unfortunately." He shifted the machine attached to his back to make it more comfortable. "Though we are just as eager to have this done. I'm assuming you had to leave from your work as well?"

"Yeah," She frowned but gave a shrug. "I've made it pretty far, so maybe I can take a break soon. I'll probably try to work through the night, maybe…"

"I wouldn't suggest that." Maddie tutted, moving between the two. "As much as I appreciate you liking my family's tea, I'll have to cut you off for today. Anything else will have to be decaf."

"She's got a point. I've never seen anyone drink as much as you have in the past few days." Cerise laughed as the werewolf in front of her pouted. "Least you got the guy's stuff done, right?"

"Yeah." Clawdeen's ears flitted up in interest, looking over at the Ed's. "They'll be coming in through tonight. If you guy's wear it to the concert, make sure you tell anyone there who made it."

"Heck yeah we will!" Ed jumped in, smiling ear to ear. "We'll look so_ cool!_ Everyone will be wondering where we got it."

"_I thought the point was to fit in?"_ Ghoulia questioned, raising an eyebrow at the statement. Then again, she was kind of eager to figure out how they looked in their new outfits as well.

Ed just rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, but it'd be nice to have a change of pace. We don't have that many different changes of clothes."

"Why am I not surprised by that statement?" Cleo said, catching everyone's attention. She pointed at several figures leaving the structure. "I'd suggest we meet with them. I'd rather not stay here any longer than I have to."

"Keep your pants on Queenie, I don't want to talk to Daring any more than you do." Eddy grumbled, bounding down the hill to meet with the blonde prince. He felt a sense of satisfaction when he saw the boy's face scrunch up at his presence and smirked. "So, Charmless, what's the damage? Kinda hoping you aren't going to shut us down."

"That won't the case." Daring wasn't sure why Eddy disliked him, but he might as well get through it whenever he talked with him. "None of the members of my team found anything dangerous in there or anything that could become dangerous. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but congratulations."

"Excellent. I suppose that means we have free reign to use this space?" Double D questioned patiently, moving beside his friend.

"It seems like you were already using it before we got here, but yes." The Charming teen said, looking over the stage not far from where he stood. "I don't know how Grimm will react to the placement of the stage, though."

"He'll suck it up like a grown up. Headmistress Bloodgood will have _his _head if he doesn't." Eddy laughed, not noticing the fearful grimace on the boy's face as he went back up. "You heard him, everyone! We're good to go for tomorrow, so rest easy!"

The group members seemed happy about this as they talked and moved away from the scene. Talks about what was going to happen tomorrow and what they had planned were abundant as they went their separate ways, leaving the Ed's behind.

Staying back, the three boys did a look over the area, especially their work on the stage. Despite the headache helping to organize this caused, especially on top of their own projects, they couldn't help but feel accomplished in what they created. Not bad for something they had to organize within a single week.

"I actually have a good feeling about this." Eddy said, putting his hands into his pocket. "I'm still expecting _something_ to go wrong, but I feel like we can get past that you know?"

"It is the first time we've been able to put our talents to good use outside of one of our scams." Double D winced after saying it. "Well, at least not directly. I suppose when it comes to this, virtually everything we make we'll be a part of the scam."

"The ongoing scam of life!" Ed said triumphantly, causing his friends to laugh uproariously. He laughed too, a proud expression as plain as day on his face. "At least what we're doing is good, right? I don't think we're hurting anyone."

"You got a point, Lumpy." The short Ed boy replied. His smile remained on his face for a couple of seconds before it fell slightly, an uneasy expression on his face. "This just became real, didn't it? As soon as the concerts over, we're going to commit to the act fully and leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. We're attempting to fool two entire schools into thinking we're one of them."

"Yes, it appears so." Double D felt the dread seep into him too. He had known that this was coming for days now, but the weight of it hadn't fully rested on him until this moment too. After the concert was over, they would fully slip into new identities consisting of fantastical concepts he previously thought weren't possible.

Ed looked over, frowning as he watched the two begin to panic internally. He moved in front of them, putting on an easy smile for them. "I thought we were going for this. Are you guys already having second thoughts?"

The two didn't say anything, not looking directly into his eyes. Ed frowned deeper before switching back to his earlier behavior. "I think this'll be a great start for us. No Peach Creek, no parents, no old schools! Come one, Eddy, you're the man with the plan, and Double D, you know virtually anything! We'll do just fine."

The other two still felt caution override their senses, but it ebbed away slightly at the enthusiasm from their friend. Double D gave a smile while Eddy simply started to walk away from the scene, thoughts going through his head.

"Come on guys." He said confidently, a grin entering his face. "It's time to make our debut."

* * *

The next evening was a special one to everyone since it pretty much showed all of their hard work coming into fruition.

It was honestly very hard to control it, if they were completely honest.

The concert itself was going fairly well, with the bands picked out having been playing for about an hour now, with various amounts of success in getting the crowd into it. The food had been set up by Maddie and her father not long ago and had a wide selection that everyone seemed to like well enough. The decorations and any pyrotechnics were going smoothly under the direction of everyone involved, with no malfunctions.

Nothing seemed to be out of place or working against the hard work everyone did.

The attendees, seemingly cut off between the groups of Monsters and Legends, were the main problem.

It wasn't like anyone was being purposefully antagonistic or rude. In fact, most of the interactions thus far had been mostly polite at the very least, but those were few and far in between. The groups mostly stuck to themselves otherwise and never really talked unless interaction was forced.

This distressed Apple greatly since this made the _entire goal_ of the operation of setting up a relationship between both sides as being much more difficult than it should've been.

"Why isn't anyone talking to each other?" Apple was already starting to get frantic, muttering to herself as she tried and almost failed to not chew on her nails. "The whole point was getting people to talk to one another. This is a disaster."

"I wouldn't say that." Cleo had joined her, looking over the crowd with a critical eye. "As idiotic of a plan I thought this was, nothing major has happened so far, so something is working. Most likely because the more confrontational idiots decided not to come."

"Free food and live music does bring in plenty of people, but it isn't like they have to force themselves to actually interact." Cerise looked down around the perimeter once more, not seeing any invading animals. "I'd still say that this was a success if no one gets hurt. Heck, as long as no one actually looks at each other wrong, it'll be a miracle."

Raven had been relaxing and having one of the drinks provided by Maddie's catering service when her expression shifted. She grabbed a walkie-talkie that she had been assigned and pressed a button. "How's everything going, everyone? Smoothly, I hope." She said to it. She felt an itch at the back of her head telling her something was about to go wrong.

"Everything's good down here!" Maddie said through the device, cheerful voice ringing. "Still plenty of food to go around and plenty of people that want to eat it!"

"I'm keeping an eye on things at the dance floor. Couples are having fun, but people are sticking to cliques more often than not." Clawdeen mumbled, a slight amount of disdain in her tone. "Not like we worked hard to get everyone here. Or spent hours trying to come up with how to get this nice."

"_It'll be fine Clawdeen."_ Ghoulia 'said.' _"It appears that everything is in working order. The Ed's seem to have everything under control, though they've been tense about things going wrong."_

"That makes four of us then." Raven mumbled to herself, but not into the walkie-talkie. She leaned back into it. "Anything we should watch out for? Doesn't look like they've brought out the big guns just yet."

"_Not yet. We didn't necessarily plan out a big finale or any acts that required too much of it, but-"_ Ghoulia paused for a second, a ringing could be heard from her end. _"Excuse me for a moment."_

"Is everything alright?" Apple moved to Raven, eyes alight with concern. "Calls like that aren't usually signs of good things."

"She usually doesn't take calls when she's on the job either," Cleo did actually sound concerned about the prospect, having known the zombie for years. "She's usually focused too much on her work to notice anything else."

This caused some anxiety within the present group. Cleo didn't seem like the type to worry about something and she wasn't really invested in this, even if she had dutifully disabled the traps that were set out.

The device came to life suddenly, some unidentifiable groaning coming from Ghoulia that Cleo only understood. "She's cursing?" The mummy said, surprise evident. She snatched the walkie-talkie out of Raven's hands, pressing the button. "Ghoulia, only I can understand you right now. What's happening?"

"_I spoke too soon when I said things were under control apparently." _Ghoulia let out a few small curses before she typed some more into the speaker. _"One of the bands had to cancel last minute. They didn't explain why and now we're short one."_

"That doesn't sound so bad." Maddie chimed in. "It just means we're ending the show a little earlier than planned. I don't think anyone would mind, honestly."

"_That would be true if the other bands were here. The band that's supposed to come up after them isn't even close to being ready."_ This caused a great deal of panic to be brought up, anxiety reaching each of the team members as they realized the gravity of the situation. _"And it's not like I can call up another group since they're even less prepared then the last one."_

Right after she said this, the device buzzed in as another person, male this time, decided to join in. "Which one was it? I swear if it was that idiot with the bowl cut-"

"Good to hear from you too, Eddy." Cleo rolled her eyes, tapping her foot on the ground in annoyance. "I wouldn't necessarily complain just yet. Don't you have some magical way of fixing things?"

"I wouldn't tempt him, Cleo. He is a protagonist." Maddie warned, to the confusion of everyone on the call. After a few moments, she ringed back in. "Actually, yeah, do taunt him. Protagonist powers would be great right about now."

"I have no idea what that means, but okay." Eddy decided to brush over that apparently, having already had to deal with one weird guy for about ten years of his life. Having to deal with her was a piece of cake. "Is there _any_ chance that if me and the other guys hurry up and set things up, one of those bands will be ready to go up Ghoulia?"

"_Unfortunately, no. While you could possibly set up most of the set on the fly and have some of the pyrotechnics ready as their bit goes on, it doesn't change the fact that they wouldn't be here to play."_

"I really hope those guys who canceled had a good reason, otherwise they are _so_ blacklisted." The Ed boy grumbled. He went silent for a few minutes, most likely discussing their option with his friends. Eventually, he came back, sighing. "Any idea how long it'll take for either one of them to get here?"

"_Unfortunately, it's hard to tell."_

"Dammit." He said finally, going back into silence again gruffly. Again, a few moments passed by with radio silence before Eddy came back, grumbling. "We got an idea that might give us enough time to get them here. Try to get them off their buts and maybe we can pull this off without having to admit anything's wrong."

"What exactly are you planning on doing?" Cleo asked, but didn't receive an answer. She looked at the others and gave them a concerned look. "What exactly is he planning? And why does it make me so nervous?"

"Your guess is as good as ours." Cerise felt a shiver go down her spine, noting that the current band was starting to move off the stage. The lights began to dim, signifying that another act was supposed to come on stage. "I have a feeling we're about to figure out pretty soon, though."

The lights didn't come on for a minute or so, causing the crowd to get a little restless. Some whispers were shared as some questioned if the show was over or not, while others wondered about a technical malfunction. The answer was provided not long after, the lights turning back on when three particular people took the stage.

The Ed's, now in their new regalia, stood proudly with a slight hint of awkwardness.

Ed was in the back, fiddling with some device in the back, a soundboard that played various drums patterns if some could listen closely. He was wearing an outfit similar to his old one, though this one had a hood with fur on the edges. The tail of it was slightly torn and ragged, though in a way that looked purposeful. His undershirt had the previous colors of white and red muted, a Monster High label put on an added pocket. His pants were in a similar state of being muted, with some purposeful tears. The black collar around his neck only added to the punkish look Clawdeen seemed to have created for him.

Double D, messing around with a guitar that he only knew how to play because of his experience with string instruments, had a different twist to it. For the most part, it appeared that he dressed up as a scientist, a lab coat that reach to his feet and a comfortable looking suit with a red shirt, white vest, and a whit tie. They were accompanied by a fine pair of black slacks and black shoes. As for the stitching, it was hard to tell how exactly it was done; one minute, it appeared to be spotless and perfect, while the next, it appeared to have random stitches built into it. It seemed to change depending on the lighting surrounding him.

Standing confidently in the front and holding the microphone stand was Eddy. Taking a full-on nosedive into a new style, he seemingly took a few notes from punks young and old, wearing a leather jacket with purple accents, a mustard colored shirt, and a black pair of jeans. He wore boots too to accentuate his height, black and imposing if only to him. He was the only one to add any jewelry to his ensemble, having silver rings on his ring fingers and a necklace containing a small purple gem in its center. While somehow the least complicated of the trio's, it spoke louder in how he acted in it, something he had made sure to perfect.

"I did an awesome job on their outfits." Clawdeen reported in, receiving no response from the confused organizers.

"Alright." Eddy simply started, looking over the crowd carefully. He was, so far, breaking standard protocol when it came to have another band come on stage, but screw it. It's their time to shine. "Sorry to but in, folks, but due to some trouble on the next bands end, they won't be showing up tonight."

Some groans could be heard at that, but Eddy smirked and rolled his eyes. "Oh, quiet down. They did it last minute and it looks like things need to be shaken up a bit anyway. Whole point of the concerts to introduce yourself to some new people, and I haven't seen any of you making some new friends."

"He's got a point." Double D added, having finished messing with his guitar. "Hopefully, you'll consider this before the concerts over, but I think it would be nice if some of you at least had a few different dance partners before the night ends. At least it might make an interesting story to your friends coming in for school this coming Monday."

"And we're not just saying all of this because we're stalling." Ed added, receiving a few laughs from the audience and glares from his fellow Eds. Eddy threw an empty water bottle at him, which he dodged, much to the delight of the audience.

The short Ed boy only rolled his eyes, turning back to the audience. "Now that we've had a nice laugh, I think it's about time get the ball rolling here. Can't stall forever, right?" Eddy smiled as the joke landed, standing up straighter as the smile turned devilish. He lifted a hand, priming it into a snapping position. "Now, I have one thing to ask all of you to do one thing; **Dance!"**

Eddy's fingers snapped with a bright purple light that spread a bright flame over the audience, causing their eyes to glow alight.

That's when they started to play.

_[Play Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy]*_

Cleo blinked, feeling a bit of fear in here as she watched the performance begin. "Did Eddy just do magic?"

"I believe he just did." Raven answered, already feeling a good amount of fear entering her as well. It only increased when the people on the dancefloor started to move to Eddy's voice.

"_She says she's no good with words, but I'm worse,_

_Barely stuttered out a joke of a romantic stuck to my tongue._

_Weighed down with words too overdramatic,_

_Tonight, it's it can't get much worse,_

_Versus no one should ever feel like-"_

Eddy then slammed down his foot, grinning wildly as the fireworks started to be set off around him and envelop the scene with a wild blue light.

The crowd cheered as he continued to sing with wild abandon.

"_I'm two quarters and a heart down,_

_And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds,_

_These words are all I have so I write them,_

_I need them just to get by."_

As the three Ed's launched into the chorus, the crowds began to mix together for the first time that night, some dance partners grabbing onto each other with wild abandon. Whether it was the energy of the song or Eddy's enchantment was hard to determine to the partygoers outside of the mosh pit that seemingly formed.

"_Dance, dance,_

_We're falling apart to halftime._

_Dance, dance,_

_And these are the lives you love to lead._

_Dance, this is the way they'd love,_

_If they knew how misery loved me."_

Double D played a small riff on his guitar, shyly looking out to the audience. He sent a quick glance to Ed, who was having the time of his life at the soundboard he was given. Despite the hesitance to this plan, he couldn't help but smile as he began to get more into it himself.

All the other group members on the balcony watched in rapt attention, almost failing to notice the footsteps behind them of the rest of the group feel behind them, some laughing (Maddie), others wondering what was going on (Clawdeen), and one relieved (Ghoulia).

"_You always fold just before you're found out,_

_Drink up its last call, last resort,_

_But only the first mistake and I-"_

Eddy snapped his finger into the air, causing a rising pillar of purple flame to erupt out of his hand. It swirled and furled, followed by small fireworks being rained down upon him. The cheers of the crowd fueled him and the other two Eds.

"_I'm two quarters and a heart down,_

_And I don't want to forget how your voice sounds,_

_These words are all I have so I write them,_

_So, you need them just to get by."_

Eddy moved back from the mic for a second, checking on the crowd below him. They were still dancing to the beat, the crowd having fully mixed together now. His eyes drifted to where the rest of the group stood, causing him to lean back in with a flirty, joking smirk.

"_Why don't you show me a little bit of spine_

_You've been saving for his mattress, love ~."_

He winced at the end and felt a deep sense of satisfaction as Apple looked scandalized and Cleo just looked absolutely enraged.

"_Dance, dance,_

_We're falling apart to halftime._

_Dance, dance,_

_And these are the lives you love to lead._

_Dance, this is the way they'd love if they knew how misery loved me."_

As they went back into the chorus, the rest of the group laughed along. "Gotta' admit, they're weird but kinda' awesome." Clawdeen said, raising an eyebrow as Double D played the guitar with all of his effort. "Didn't think anyone of them knew how to play."

"Probably should've expected it." Cerise nodded, appreciating the guitar riffs as well. "Maybe we should get them to play more stuff. They certainly made the school year start off amazing."

Maddie only nodded along, looking at the crowd below. "Everyone's dancing together! They actually did it!" She gave everyone a mad smile, an insane twinkle in her eye. "You think if I jumped down there, I'd be able to crowd surf."

"_Maddie no." _Ghoulia said, moving her away from the railing. She motioned them to all keep looking at the stage, though she was tempted to dance herself.

"_Why don't you show me a little bit of spine,_

_You've been saving for his mattress (mattress, mattress)._

_I only want sympathy, in the form of you, crawling into bed with me."_

Eddy sent one last glance to the crowd, all cheering and having a good time. Enchantment or not, he felt like he did a pretty good job of riling them. He sent a quick glance to his friends, who gave nods of encouragement.

It was about time for the finale.

"_Dance, dance,_

_We're falling apart to halftime._

_Dance, dance,_

_And these are the lives you love to lead._

_Dance this is the way they'd love (way they'd love),_

_Dance this is the way they'd love (way they'd love),_

_Dance this is the way they'd love if they knew how misery loved me."_

The Ed's took a collective step towards one another as Eddy prepped another spell. As they did, Eddy began to wind down the crowd as he sang the final notes of the song. The crowd began to calm as the enchantment left them, but they still danced along, though it was somewhat tiredly they did so.

As he sang every line, they moved closer together.

"_Dance, dance._

_Dance, dance._

_Dance, dance._

_Dance, dance."_

Eddy then snapped his fingers, cutting the song short as he teleported them off stage. The roar of the crowd was infectious as they cheered, clapping as they did.

Meanwhile, the Eds appeared on the same balcony the girls were, landing not-so-gracefully on their backs. They breathed heavily at the strain of what they just did, but Eddy soon shot up with a loud laugh.

"Two successful spells in one night!" He cheered, whooping as he excitedly jumped in place. He turned to the others, eyes wild and grin wide. "Somebody high five me!"

Maddie was quick to give him one, the both of them laughing wildly. The other two Eds were slower to get up, but albeit did after a few seconds, disoriented.

"I've only been teleported twice, and I can already say that it isn't my favorite activity." Double D said, feeling nauseous as he got on shaky legs. "I do ask that if you decide to teleport us again that you give us fair warning, Eddy."

"No promises." Eddy said, grabbing Ed to pull him up the rest of the way. "So, Lumpy, you enjoy being on stage? Sounds like you had fun with the soundboard."

"Heck yeah I did!" Ed laughed, still somewhat dizzy, but otherwise fine. "It was all fireworks and rocking out, and just," Ed couldn't help but continue laughing as the adrenaline went through his system.

"_It certainly looks like you made an impression on the audience."_ Ghoulia was standing at the railing, prompting the others to look her way. Most of them moved beside her to look over the side and into the crowd below.

While the chaos of the Ed's introduction been sudden, it did bring the two groups together despite the previous hang-ups. Plenty of friendly conversations were taking place between Legends and Monsters, a big difference in comparison to before.

"You think this'll hold out before the night ends?" Cleo asked, deciding to withhold any complaints about the situation until later. The sight was a surprising, yet welcome one that would've warmed her heart if it still beat.

"I'd like to think so." Apple answered happily, fondly watching the scene before her with a hint of pride.

And, thankfully, the rest of the night went fairly smoothly.

* * *

Deep within Ever After High, inside winding tunnels and half-lit passageways, a lone man stood over a glowing book. The book itself was worn and seemingly used till it was nearly in threads, but the inside showed no words, but an image.

It showed the ten teens at the concert, standing over everyone else as they teased, laughed, and worried about everything below them. They didn't know they were being watched and the man knew this.

Despite knowing that their journey would be a difficult one, the old man smiled hopefully at what they would hopefully one day accomplish.

* * *

**I swear, the endings always escape me while I'm writing them.**

**I know, a little cheesy to add a song bit, but I've liked some in the past and I figured it would be fun to add this in. Even if the song is almost fifteen years old at this point (I am so old, it's not even funny). I hope you guys think it was fun and fitting anyway.**

**Well, now it's time to get into the canon content that I'm sure all of you were hoping for. Starting next chapter, it's all canon baby!**


	11. First Day Do's and Dont's

**Here we are, finally into canon and wading into it like a hydrophobic kid during his first trip to ocean. I'm basically going with the idea of using canon as a basis and changing things depending on how I want the story to go. I don't like the idea of going word for word on some parts, so don't expect things to correlate exactly to the episodes since I am basically playing Dr. Frankenstein with them. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Apple knew it was going to be an amazing year at Ever After High. The concert went great, she made some pretty interesting friends over it, and hopefully made a notable beginning to repairing relations between Monsters and Legends.

Not to mention she'd get to see her good old friends as well after such a busy summer!

Walking into Rumpelstiltskin's morning class was such a relief. So many familiar faces that she'd been dying to see were there, Briar Beauty and Ashlynn Ella being two of them.

"Apple!" Ashlynn was already jumping into her arms, spinning each other around while they giggled happily. Stopping and letting go of each other, Ashlynn's smile was wide with glee. "It's been way too long! Hope you haven't been working too hard."

"I'm trying not to." Apple happily laughed, separating completely from her. She looked to Briar, having most likely woken up from her latest nap. "Hopefully you haven't spent all _your_ time partying."

"There aren't enough parties out there to take up my time." Briar oozed confidence, giving Apple a hug of her own. "Though I did hear that I happened to miss a concert you helped set-up. If I knew that was coming, I would've come here a week earlier."

Apple would've rolled her eyes at that if it wasn't a rude gesture. "It was a pretty fun concert, all things considered. I can't say that it was lively the whole time though, but I think we made it work."

"Yeah, we got the video of it." Ashlynn held up her MirrorPhone, showing a video of the concert itself. Apple couldn't help but recognize the Ed's on stage, Eddy himself happily using whatever spell he could use at the time. "Seems like you had some pretty good people to liven it up."

"Never saw those guys hanging out at Ever After before. I'm guessing they're new?" Briar looked over at the video, raising an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure Faybelle's not going to be happy that she's going to be competing with another magic user."

"I'm sure she'll be fine with it. He is somewhat new to using it, though, so she might not have to worry about it." Apple shrugged. She still didn't know how he was able to get his magic core to work and why it took so long, but maybe he was just trying to hide certain things from people to have an advantage.

It certainly seemed like something he would do, now that she thought about it.

"I'm guessing you're talking about the Ed's?" Raven walked in, a steaming thermos of tea in her hands as she tiredly looked over the three in attendance. Maddie, as energetic as ever, was behind her and giving her pet mouse another biscuit to snack on. "Just so you know, I'm still terrified that Eddy has magic now."

"Oh, don't worry Raven. You're not the only one that's terrified." Maddie said 'encouragingly,' the mouse disappearing within her hat once again. "I'm pretty sure his friends will make sure he doesn't do anything too bad with it."

"Oh, you actually know them?" Briar actually did seem surprised by this, eyebrow reaching her hairline. "I mean, I just thought you hired some random band or something."

"They were actually in charge of pyrotechnics. So far, randomly performing at a concert during an emergency isn't the strangest thing they've pulled since they've arrived here." Apple blinked after she said this, turning to Raven and Maddie. "You wouldn't happen to have heard from them, right? This is supposed to be Double D and Eddy's first class."

"I haven't heard from them." Raven shrugged, sipping on her tea. "Hopefully they make it, otherwise they'll learn how _fun _it is to spin gold out of hay."

"Oh, they'll be here soon." Maddie didn't seem to mind the weird looks she got when she said this. "I'm sure they're just running a little late."

* * *

"Eddy."

"Yes, Sockhead?"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SET THE ALARM?!"

The first day of school was not going well for everyone, as currently evidenced by the two boys running full sprint to the school, panicking. Double D had overslept due to general anxiety keeping him up last night. As for Eddy…

"I did!" Eddy reminded himself later to get into better shape before the school ends, because he was seriously getting exhausted from running around everywhere. "I may or may not have incinerated it after it went off. I don't have full control of my magic yet!"

"Then why were you wearing the suit?" Double D sarcastically mumbled, legs aching from the exertion. They hadn't broken a sweat yet, though, so he was glad they wouldn't arrive there with terrible hygiene. "Look, let's just focus on getting there in one piece. I'd rather not be late and make a bad first impression with our teachers within the first ten minutes of class."

"At least you don't have to go to villain classes. If it wasn't so accurate for them to put me in there, I'd almost feel profiled." Eddy darted past a couple that almost got into his path, narrowly avoiding a collision. "There are a lot more people here now. Just how many stories does this place have to reenact, anyway?"

"Plenty of them." Double D did notice the increase in population the past few days but didn't consider how it would affect their commute. He figured he would make some calculations in the next few days to find a better route. "Let's just be glad we're going with softer interpretations this time and _not_ have to play by the rules of the original stories."

"A lot of injuries and death in those." Eddy mumbled. He figured that there was some silver lining here. "I'm just hoping we don't get put into some stupid roles or something. If they're going to put me in villain classes, I'm aiming for something top tier."

"Well, we'll see about that when they assign something to us." Double D skidded to a stop in front of Ever After High, Eddy following shortly. He scanned the building, looking it over with a critical eye before pointing at a window. "If I'm remembering the layout correctly, we'll have to get up there soon. I've heard some horror stories about the teacher, so I'd suggest we get there posthaste."

"Remind me to learn how to teleport better." Eddy was only barely able to do it at the concert because it wasn't that far of a distance, plus the fact that he was familiar with the area. Of course, he could try it anyway, but he'd probably teleport themselves right next to the window. On the outside.

"It shouldn't take that long." Double D checked on his MirrorPhone for the layout of the school. "As long as the professor isn't that far ahead of us and doesn't arrive there first, we should be able to make it with a minute to spare."

"Any idea what the professor even looks like?" Eddy looked at his own schedule, frowning. "We're being taught by Rumpelstiltskin? They actually let his name out just like that? I thought it was supposed to be a twist."

"Yes, but that's not really important right now." Double D scanned the area, looking for said teacher. "He's apparently very short, but noticeable. Like some sort of dwarf or gnome, I believe, but he also looks…" He trailed off, looking towards the entrance. "Like he's walking inside the school."

"What?!"

The two looked over to see a short man with pointy ears and wearing a tall fur cap was moving up the steps of the school. He didn't seem perturbed by the number of students moving about, though they did give him a wide berth. Rumpelstiltskin must've recognized them (probably because Grimm warned him about them ahead of time) because he stopped, looking at the two. He pointed at where a watch would be on his arm, tapping it slowly before shrugging and heading inside the school.

"…I haven't even said two words to the guy and I already hate him. That's gotta be a record or something." Eddy said, arms twitching as he debated on just what kind of hell he was going to put that teacher through.

"It certainly doesn't endear me to him, that's for sure." Double D looked even less enthused. He really hoped that there was actual competent teacher at this establishment. So far, the two he's met had been jerks and he was starting to wonder if the scam was worth risking his education on.

He looked back to the window and then back to Eddy. "I think I have an idea to get us up there without landing us in too much trouble."

Eddy gave him a raised eyebrow and a smirk. "I'm up for it if you are."

"Good." Double D smiled, walking towards the building with a confident stride. "Then I'd suggest holding on, because it might be a bumpy ride."

* * *

"Maddie, you've been standing there and not talking for several minutes now. How do you know that they're going to be here?"

"Sorry Raven, the line break took longer than I thought it would." Maddie didn't even bother to acknowledge the stares sent her way. "Just trust me on this."

"I guess you've never been wrong before." Apple said tentatively, already attempting to change the subject. "I'm assuming you're all looking forward to Legacy Day? I honestly can't wait."

"Oh god, that is this year, isn't it?" Raven didn't look as excited, wincing at the thought of the upcoming event. "I honestly forgot about it. Things have been pretty hectic lately and I was honestly hoping they'd postpone it till later."

"Why? I mean, the ceremony sounds a little boring, I'm not going to lie. But the afterparty is supposed to be awesome though!" Briar just shrugged, nonchalant about the whole thing. "I guess I might have to speed up my bucket list, but that doesn't mean it has to be all boring."

"Why is it boring?" Apple looked a little offended, hand over her chest. "It's one of the first steps into finally accepting our destinies! My mother told me the story of her Legacy Day nearly every night when I was a child." She sighed dreamily, eyes fluttering as she thought of the upcoming event.

"I get that." Raven rubbed her arm uncomfortably, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I'd just like it if it was more an implied thing, y'know?" She didn't feel like talking about her in particular, especially since she's heard Apple wax romantic about destiny so many times already. "Did Eddy ever tell us what his destiny is?"

Apple stopped her imagining and actually paused at the question. "That's actually a good question. I don't think he's ever said what he role he's playing, but I do know he's going into some villain classes."

"I don't think Double D said what his was either." Maddie thought out loud, shrugging a second later. "That could be because he's going to Monster High too and he needs to keep some kind of anonymity, though."

"Wait, he's going to the monster school too." Ashlynn straightened up at that, surprise evident in her voice. "I didn't think anyone was allowed to do that. Isn't he afraid of going there and dealing with the Monsters?"

"I wouldn't worry. I've talked to a few of them and they've all been pretty nice so far." Apple waved it off, receiving some skeptical and surprised looks. "Though, maybe we shouldn't speculate on Double D's status too much. It might be considered rude."

"Can we speculate why he and Eddy are trying to open the classroom window from outside?" Maddie asked, looking to the side with curious eyes.

The group wasn't exactly sure how to process that statement until they looked in the same direction. Lo and behold, they could see a frantic Double D and a frustrated Eddy trying to pick the window lock and utterly failing at it. Thankfully, they somehow hadn't been noticed by anyone else in the room. They eventually noticed that they were being watched, locking eyes with the girls on the other side of the room.

Double D gave an awkward smile and wave while Eddy rolled his eyes and went back to picking the lock.

Raven sighed and moved across the room, eventually making it to the window with the others following close behind. Undoing the latches, she pulled open the window suddenly, causing Eddy to tumble in and land face first on the floor. Double D was a lot more graceful, swinging his legs through the window and eventually standing on solid ground. "Thank you, Raven. That was starting to get a little nerve wracking. I really miscalculated how high up we were."

"No problem." Raven looked at Eddy, who was grumbling to himself as he moved got on his own feet. "You okay there?"

"Not really, but better in here than out there." He laughed. Thankfully, all his teeth were still there, and he didn't have a bloody nose like last time he failed to climb through a window. "Really wish I could've teleported rather than use Sockhead's octo arms though."

"I'd rather not have to deal with motion sickness while in the classroom, Eddy." Double D didn't notice the stares he received as said octo arms slid through the windows on cue, folding behind him. Ashlynn looked particularly terrified of them. "Though, I suppose I don't have a choice if you do decide to teleport us anywhere, do I?"

"Not even a little." The short Ed boy responded fondly, smirk on his face.

"As amusing as all of this is," Apple started, though really it was more anxiety inducing if she was being honest. "Why did you happen to climb through the window?"

"What's wrong, Princess, not happy that you're going to be the only one on time?" Eddy teased, shrugging. "Maybe I just wanted to make a good first impression on our dear teacher that'll be judging me based on my character for the rest of the year."

"That is a horrible lie, Eddy, and you feel ashamed of it." Double D deadpanned. He turned to the girls with a roll of his eyes. "We did out of spite."

"Oh, you must've met Mr. Stiltskin!" Maddie laughed for a several seconds, but suddenly became somber. "He is not a very fun teacher."

"Yeah, we can tell." Eddy gained an evil smile on his face, hands lighting up in blue fire. "I'm going to make him wish he was, though."

"Eddy, please don't use your magic in the classroom." The smart Ed boy immediately faced his friend's ire, starting another bickering match between the two.

Ashlynn leaned over to Apple discreetly, watching the scene unfold in front of her. "Are they usually like this?" She questioned quietly, eyes moving between the two like it was a live tennis match. Briar seemed almost ready to laugh herself, watching them fight.

"…Kind of?" The blonde said cautiously, not sure what to make of this either. The two were certainly lively, that was for sure.

Before the argument could escalate further, the door of the classroom opened, the dwarfish Rumpelstiltskin walking in with the attendance sheet. His eyes, while hidden to the public eye, swept across the room.

"All right, everyone sit down otherwise you'll all be-" He soon caught sight of the two Eds, suddenly choking on his words. He sputtered inelegantly, pointing at the two with shock evident on his face.

"Hey teach! Hope you're ready to deal with me all year!" Eddy cackled as the man sputtered. Double D tried to hide a few giggles of his own but was about as subtle as Eddy in that regard.

The door was suddenly opened _again,_ slamming against the wall. Headmaster Grimm, out of breath and red in the face, stood there a second or two before pointing at the two boys shakily. "Don't do that!" he tried to shout, but the authoritative effect was lost since he could barely summon the effort to actually say it.

As Eddy and Double D laughed even harder at this, Briar turned to the others with an excited smile on her face. "This is going to be a fun year."

* * *

Ed may not have been the brightest bulb, but he did occasionally do things right. Almost in complete opposite to his usually more responsible friends, he actually woke up at the time he was supposed to and got to the school on time.

The only thing that honestly worked against him was the fact that he kept getting lost.

He was getting to class on time, but usually in under a few seconds, so when third period rolled around, allowing a longer break than usual, he was almost relieved that he wouldn't have to try so hard to find his next class.

It was weird doing this without any of his friends though. He was rarely ever alone long enough and had enough time to think for himself when nobody was telling him what to do. It was either Eddy pulling them into his latest plan or Double D trying to get them involved with school stuff. It was fine if he was alone after school when he had stuff to do, but it was weird not to have them talking to him while they were in the hallway or in class.

He involuntarily twitched. Maybe he should find someone to talk to until Double D got here. Maybe make some new friends too!

Ed walked down the hallways with renewed purpose, smiling happily. He looked around, hoping to find one of the Monsters he met before school started. Ghoulia could probably help him out with some stuff or talk comic books with him. Clawdeen was cool too, she seemed responsible and nice. Cleo reminded him of Eddy.

To say the least, the hallway was filled with more cliques than he would've thought, most likely made of lifelong friends that already knew each other. Double D told him not to interrupt people while they were talking, especially if it looked like they were in a group. So, he left them alone.

Oh, maybe that one bull-guy would fun to talk to! Oh, wait, it looks he's talking to that guy wearing glasses. Seems to be holding him up pretty high to get him to eye level. The people around them looked nervous, though, going around them.

…Oh, that was bullying. That guy was being a bully.

Can't have that!

Ed was already moving in, a dull smile on his face as he ignored some warnings sent his way. He gently tapped the shoulder of the minotaur, causing him to turn. The guy honestly only looked

"What do ya' want?" The minotaur didn't exactly look to happy being interrupted, the other teen in his grasp still having his feet dangling off the floor. He didn't even bother looking too closely at Ed, eyes moving over him barely.

"Oh, I was just wondering," Ed said, rocking on the balls of his feet. "What'cha doing?"

The minotaur narrowed his eyes in annoyance, not exactly sure what exactly was going on. "Nothing much." He said cautiously, slowly looking over Ed. "Why are you still in human form?" He said it with such disdain that Ed almost felt the smile drop from his face. He held fast, though.

"Doesn't look like nothing." Ed looked over the poor nerdy kid that seemingly got caught in all of this. He waved at him in a friendly manner, which the nerdy kid returned nervously. "I mean, if this is nothing, then this guy doesn't seem to be enjoying 'nothing'."

"He bumped into me while I was opening my locker." The guy looked like he was having enough and snorted. It sounded like how an actual bull would sound. "Look, would you just back off? I ain't dealing with some rando that wants to play human."

Ed looked over to his left, noticing an open locker next to a classroom door. It looked like it contained some of the minotaur's stuff in it. "Oh, is that it? I can help with that!" Ed whipped out his arm, tentacles shooting out to grab the locker. Shutting it closed, he lifted it up and ripped it out of the wall, accidentally putting it into the ceiling.

Ed blinked, hearing some gasps from behind him. He looked to see the shocked look of the minotaur, smiling sheepishly. "Oops."

The creature was lost for words for a few seconds before suddenly letting nerd go, eyes going red. "The heck, dude?! What the heck did you think you were doing?!" The monster grabbed Ed's collar, pulling him in close so they were face to face. "What's your problem?!"

Ed batted the hand away easily, still smiling. He put his arm around the bull's neck, pulling him close in a friendly gesture. "I was trying to solve your problem!" Despite the nice way he put it, the minotaur was trying and failing to get out of Ed's grip. He was a lot stronger than he looked.

"The first day of school is really hard and I wanted to make sure things were easier for people. Maybe even make some friends." Ed shrugged, ignoring the protests from the minotaur and the stares of every Monster around him. "Maybe I didn't like how you were treating our friend here and I wanted to help." He looked up at the locker dangling from the ceiling. "And since I don't like bullies, I wanted to make sure I did this right."

Ed paused for a second, taking a look at the minotaur. "You didn't tell me your name. Maybe you can be a new friend."

"Manny Taur." The minotaur replied, having gone from angry to somewhat nervous. He kept still while under Ed's gaze, feeling like that smile was only for show at this point.

"Nice to meet you Manny." The disguised human suddenly let Manny go, causing him to stumble a little at the sudden movement. "I hope we can be good friends from now on. I don't want to see you playing too rough with people anymore. I'm not going to have a bully for a friend."

"Got it." Manny backed away slowly, smiling awkwardly as he made sure not to turn his back on the guy in front of him. "I'll- I'll make sure to listen to that."

"Good!" Ed clapped his hands and started to turn around. However, before he did, he stopped to give him one final look. "Oh, Manny! You asked me why I'm in my human form, right?"

Manny gulped and shrunk away at the question. "Yeah?" His voice was a little shaky, suddenly not wanting to see what was going to happen next.

Ed's smile became unsettling as the dark tendrils signifying the use of the storage armor flickered behind him, creating a large and intimidating shadow. "My monster form wouldn't fit inside the hallway."

He blinked and Manny wasn't there anymore. He looked over to find that the guy the minotaur had been holding up was gone too, causing him to sigh. Everyone around him was also talking in whispers too, eyeing him like he was scary. Looks like he missed out on making a friend there.

"_As much as I don't normally condone extreme actions like that, I do have to applaud your efforts there." _Ed turned and was overjoyed to find that Ghoulia was walking in, followed quietly by a stitched-up girl that seemed more wary of him. _"Not many could say they've gotten someone like Manny to run from them in only a few minutes after meeting him."_

"Ghoulia!" He bounded up to her cheerfully, giving her a hug. Weirdly enough, he could feel the tension in the room drop after that. The people stopped whispering, almost sighing in relief at the display. It almost felt like he passed some sort of test. "I've been looking for someone I knew around here. Surprisingly hard to make friends out here."

"_First days are always the hardest."_ Ghoulia looked around, noting the parting of several onlookers. _"Though, for better or for worst, you might have a few new ones by the end of the day."_

"Awesome." Ed didn't exactly get the subtext of that, turning to meet the newcomer behind her. "You a friend of Ghoulia's too? Or are you new here too?"

"Uh," The girl in stitches raised her hand for a handshake nervously, obviously having seen the display herself. "I'm Frankie Stein. I actually just got here."

"Cool, me too. Me and my friends actually got here a couple of weeks ago during the summer period, but this my first day too." Ed shook her hand as gently as he could, but Frankie's arm popped off at the slightest movement. They both looked down at it awkwardly, silent for a few moments before Ed decided to break the silence. "So, do I keep this, or do you want it back?"

Frankie involuntarily let out a snort, causing him to smile as he handed it back to her. As she did, Ed got a glimpse from a smiling Ghoulia, who seemed to be happy at the interaction.

He didn't really know why, but he had a feeling he'd do an okay job making friends here as long as he worked hard at it.

* * *

Eddy found that while Double D's nagging could be annoying sometimes, he almost missed it after they got to their free period. He was apparently heading over to Monster High to check on Ed, along with getting to know a few teachers that he would get familiar with in the coming days.

Eddy, as much as he wanted to join him, figured it would be best not to show up on school grounds just yet. Just because the concert was a success doesn't mean that things were all hunky-dory just yet, and he had some sense of self-preservation when money wasn't involved.

Unfortunately, that left him with virtually nothing to do except wander the halls and wonder who he can scam some money off of when he had the time. He did promise Sockhead that he wouldn't try anything yet, but he had the feeling he was going to try and do it at some point.

Speaking of marks, he couldn't help but notice one that he figured would never buy into his sales pitch; Cerise. She was more or less hanging outside the ballroom of one place, texting on her MirroPhone with a bored expression.

Eddy figured bothering her would be more entertaining, so he sauntered over to her with a smile on his face. "Hey, Red! How's everything going? Been pretty quiet since the concert ended."

Cerise only gave him a brief look up before going back into typing into her phone. "I've been busy. Though, from what I've been reading online, you certainly haven't been subtle."

She tilted her phone to show a video that was put up not that long ago. A blonde girl wearing a ton of blue, including a large bow atop her head held a microphone close to her face. She had an excited smile on her face that was reflected by her bubbly voice.

"Hello everyone! This is Blondie Lockes her with the latest happenings of Ever After High. And even though the first day of the new year hasn't ended, it seems like we're this year is primed and ready to be full of surprises." She motioned beside her, a news graphic featuring a photo from the concert. "Administrators and students from Ever After and Monster High collaborated for a brief time during the summer break to create a concert for any attendees of both schools to participate in."

The photo's changed to show the profiles of Apple and Raven. "While all the collaborators in charge of the concert are listed on the website, two notable names stand out; Apple White and Raven Queen, destined enemies, were said to have worked together during the project. We were able to get a quick quote from Apple about her experience."

The scene changed to show Apple White standing in the hallways, smiling her best camera smile. "I won't say that the organization of the concert didn't have its own unique setbacks," She started, her smile never wavering for a second. Eddy couldn't help but appreciate the fact she seemingly mastered that look for public gain if it wasn't so sickeningly sweet looking. "However, I believe we pulled it off well and that we had a good turnout for what many of us on the team thought would be a difficult experience."

The video switched back to Blondie. "Apple went on later to say that hopefully other events like this would happen in the near future, hopefully with further collaboration from more people on both sides. As for Raven Queen, we were unable to reach her for comment." Her expression turned serious. "Some have questioned her involvement, wondering whether she's attempting something to get out of her mother's shadow for better or for worse. Either way, it's only speculation for now."

Eddy leaned back, a little annoyed. "You'd think they'd appreciate Ray's work or something. She probably saved a few lives taking down those traps." He had to remind himself to keep an eye on her later. He couldn't help but be reminded of being back in his old high school in Peach Creek again.

"Trust me, she's not the only one that was talked about." Cerise agreed with him but put the phone back up and played the video further. "Turns out you haven't gone unnoticed either."

The video started with Blondie readjusting her hair and fumbling with the microphone. "In other news, it seems like Ever After High _and_ Monster High has received some very notable new students."

"I don't like where this is going." Eddy felt a pit form in his stomach. He hadn't even done anything yet, where people seriously already talking about him.

"Maybe wait until the video's finished." Cerise said. She received a glare in response, but he wordlessly kept watching.

"It seems as of now, not only has a new villain joined the ranks of the school, a student will be attending both schools." Blondie had two new pictures, one of Eddy, and one of Double D. It looks like they were taken during the concert and the time when Double D was moving the stages respectively. "Only known as Eddy and Double D, they have joined our ranks not long ago. While Eddy has been confirmed to be a part of the villain classes, he has been stated to have no known story, while Double D has not been confirmed to be either Monster or Legend at this time. A third student, primarily located at Monster High and only known as Ed, is said to be a part of their ranks."

Eddy let out a moan as Cerise paused the video, running a hand down his face. "Looks like I don't get to decide my debut anymore." He grumbled. He made a mental note to figure out who let out that information. Either it was normal for students to gossip about new students around here, or someone decided to leak it

He had a feeling it was Headmaster Grimm. He had no proof, but it was probably him.

"I wouldn't feel too bad. At least she didn't decide to an expose on you guys yet." Cerise motioned for him to follow her, starting to head into the ballroom. "If it makes you feel any better, maybe you'll want to watch some people awkwardly fail to introduce themselves. They're doing some practice for Legacy Day inside and it's honestly a train wreck."

"Yeah," Eddy made sure to send find and link Double D to the video to keep him up on things. "Count me in."

The ballroom wasn't packed or anything, but a decent amount of people were in there milling about. A stage, most likely a mock version of the real thing, stood there as one person after another walked up it, saying something, and miming their signature in a fake book. It looked like Apple was there too, running the entire thing.

"I honestly don't get the whole ceremony." The hooded girl frowned, watching each person come up with various levels of enthusiasm. "It feels egotistical sometimes. Like people don't already know what story they're going for, so they got to tell a bunch of people they probably grow up with what it is again."

"It's not like some fairy tales even teach you anything constructive. Half of them have some bad messages when you look at them long enough." He pointed up to Blondie, who was giving her speech. "Like her. Assuming she's Goldie Lockes kid, her story says that breaking and entering is okay."

"I've met the family she's supposed to rob. They aren't fond of her." She shrugged. "What about the others?"

"Well, we got Apple, whose story tells guys that running around forests and kissing sleeping girls in coffins is a _great_ idea." Eddy smiled at the snort he got from her, eyes moving over the crowd with delight. "Same thing could be said for the Princess and The Frog, where kissing random animals asking you too is _not_ a bad idea that will result in you getting some new disease."

"How about Cinderella?" Cerise nodded to Ashlynn, who was still waiting in line with a bored expression on her face.

"A foot fetish can get you money and power if you play it right." Eddy said casually, getting another surprised laugh. His eyes narrowed for a second and he gave her a quick look. "I have a to ask, though, is stepsisters thing a requirement? I don't think I'd like it if my mom remarried or something and it turns out it was because I was the ugliest kid they could find."

"Yeah, she doesn't like to talk about it. It's not a great precedent honestly." Cerise didn't notice the weird look she got from him, pointing at another random member of the crowd. "Jack and the Beanstalk."

"It's okay to commit home invasion if you profit from it." Eddy's frown increased, eyes narrowing more. "What exactly happens to the giant in that situation? Does he even get his stuff back?"

"Usually, but sometimes they don't. Tiny and Jillian are good friends, so most likely." She pointed at herself. "Got anything on my story?"

"Always send your children out on deliveries into dangerous forests with deadly wildlife." He rocked back for a second, looking her in the eyes. "What happens to the wolf in that story?"

"Usually they're forced out of the house and the story ends." Cerise frowned, finally looking him in the eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing." Eddy relaxed at the mention of her stories end, moving his eyes back onto the ceremony. "It's just- it's just that some of the stories sound very complicated to repeat, y'know? A little disturbing too for everyone involved."

Cerise looked like she wanted to say something but stopped to think about it. She looked back into the crowd too, smile gone. "I guess you got a point there."

They watched silently as someone they both recognized went up to the stage, a disinterested look on her face. Briar Beauty rolled her eyes as she went up to the microphone, looking over her lines for the ceremony.

"I'm Briar Beauty and I pledge to commit to my mother's destiny and go to sleep for 100 years." She repeated, deadpan and bored out of her mind.

Eddy choked on his spit.

* * *

"100 years! I'm not joking, Sockhead, she literally said that like she was saying that she'd take a nap!" Eddy threw his hands up, landing to lay on the grass behind him. "How is anyone fine with that?!"

"I'm not exactly happy about this too." Double D was definitely irked by the news himself but was also trying to make sure Eddy didn't go too far off into his own rant. "But maybe that isn't the full story. In this day and age, I doubt they'd actually make here try to sleep for 100 years."

"I wouldn't put too much stock in that." Cleo picked at her salad, bits and pieces of it taken out before settling back in. "From what I know, Legends aren't exactly the most flexible when it comes to working around traditions."

"When did you get here?" Eddy asked gruffly, narrowing his eyes at her.

"My boyfriends was busy for lunch and I figured I might as well check on your train wreck of a first day." She took a bite of her meal, ignoring the blistering glare from the boy.

"There's also the fact no one else wants to sit with you during lunch." Clawdeen took a bite from her steak before it started getting cold, attempting not to smile at the offended gasp she got from the mummy. "And as much I hate agreeing with you, you do have a point. Legends are sticklers for the rules."

"It does sound pretty bad, though." Ed had already devoured whatever food of his was there, watching the clouds lazily. "I mean, she's going to miss _so_ many cool movies and video games that come out in the next couple of months."

"That's not what we should be worried about, Monobrow." Eddy pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's just the entire concept of that is way too insane. How has _that_ kept being a tradition."

"It's a matter of life or death to them, quite honestly." Cleo abandoned the salad, not really hungry. "They all honestly believe that if they don't follow their stories that they might disappear if even one of them goes off script. Though, there hasn't been any actual _reports_ of that, as far as anyone knows."

"I don't like it either, but I kinda get it." The werewolf of the group flinched at the stares she got from the rest. "I wouldn't want to fade away either. Who knows, someone probably tried to go off the page or something and ended up getting erased from existence or something and we don't remember it."

"Didn't Monsters do that a long time ago?" Ed flipped over, looking over at everyone. "We still pretty much exist, and we went _way _off track."

"Monsters only had bit parts in the grand scheme of those stories, so we don't necessarily count. Quite honestly the best part of Monster history is when we recognized our own worth outside of those pesky stories." Cleo's voice took an upturn, prideful.

"True." Clawdeen finished off the last of her steak, frowning. "Now if we could get past some of the stupider problem between us, we could stand a chance against surviving humans. That might take a while, though." She shrugged and started to head off. "I'll see you guys later. Hopefully my brother is done meeting up for casketball practice."

"I'll head out too. Ghoulia probably wants to introduce me to that new student she's been talking about." Cleo took her salad with her, grumbling about how someone was going to learn about how the school works.

The Ed's looked at each other nervously. Ed picked out some of the grass and messed around with it while Eddy absentmindedly flicked his hands on and off with magical fire. Double D picked at his own lunch before looking up.

"This is going to be a very interesting year." It was neither a statement nor a question, just a fact that settled over them quietly.

Ed nodded while Eddy growled, neither contributing more into the conversation.

Unfortunately, they would be proven right by the time Legacy Day came.

* * *

**It's only a small wade-in thus far, but I do think that it's a great beginning all together. More characters make things unstable, but I think something fresh will end up from it. When things get more involved with the movies is where I think things will shine. I'll see you all next chapter and feel free to leave your ideas in the comments below!**


	12. Surface Problems, Deep Issues

**I'm glad to get this chapter out, despite the fact that it kicked my but for the entire time I was writing it. I was excited about getting to it, but it also stumped me as to how to deal with certain things. However, I think I pulled through.**

**Hopefully, you all like it and stick with the story as it develops.**

* * *

Despite the fact that Eddy knew it was just a stupid ceremony, he couldn't help but fear Legacy Day immensely. Technically, he didn't have to sign it now since they didn't know what story he was meant to fill, but there was a certain amount of anxiety to it. A paramount moment in this culture, something that meant everything to most of the people here.

Not to mention he was going to have to dress up for it.

"This friggin' blows." He complained loudly, following Double D to Clawdeens workshop. "Didn't we just get new clothes? Friggin' rich people making us have costume changes."

"While I agree, Eddy, it's not like we already have formal wear." Double D strode confidently, ignoring the complaints as best he could. "Considering how we left Peach Creek in a hurry, we didn't exactly have time to pack everything."

"Yeah, I had to leave all my favorite comic books behind too!" Ed moved in real close to Eddy's face. "Every. Single. One."

Eddy blinked and pushed Ed away from his face. "And why exactly are _you_ here, Monobrow?"

"He needs formal wear as much as the rest of us. Monster High has its own celebrations, Eddy." The smart Ed boy frowned heavily. "And from the sounds of it, we might have to get more in the future. Supposedly, it's tradition to have a different outfit for each celebration in Ever After and Monster High."

"Friggin' rich people." The short Ed boy raised his arms over his head and shook them rapidly. "Who the heck thought _that_ was a good idea?!"

"The doll companies that made their shows." Ed added helpfully, receiving a few affirmative grunts in response. "Besides, isn't it nice to dress up? I like feeling pretty."

"Considering the work I'll have to do to make sure we can afford this, you'll have to feel pretty." Double D grumbled. He only half meant that, however.

Though he wasn't looking forward to the amount of work, he did enjoy hanging out with Clawdeen when he could, which made things infinitely easier. It became even more fun with the occasional visit from Cerise or Maddie, who had apparently enjoyed their company. He figured that he was becoming friends with the three of them the most.

Ed was having a similar time making friends at Monster High. He got to know Ghoulia the most while he was there along with making the random friend or two when he had free time. Double D had initially been concerned when he heard an incident happened between him and someone named "Manny," but he was assured that it wasn't particularly bad.

Eddy was having trouble at all fronts.

Eddy didn't get along with Cleo at all, which showed no signs of changing for now. He did keep Apple at arm's length, mostly due to some strange sense of mistrust. Raven appeared to be the only one he was actually getting close to, through some strange kinship that formed between them and Ed. He hadn't talked to anyone in his villain classes at length just yet.

They all attempted to share lunch with each other at random intervals, which differed on who exactly participated. It had been a mess so far, but it made things pretty interesting depending on the combinations. However, it never resulted in the full group.

Walking through the doors of the workshop, something told them that it would change.

"Clawdeen," Double D looked around the room, noting that things were seemingly under control. "I see the work has gotten under control. I hope that means good things."

"If you count almost losing customers because my sister won't keep messing with the clothing, then yeah, it's gotten pretty good around here." The werewolf actually looked like she was taking a break for once. She had a steaming cup of whatever batch of tea Maddie had left for her that day. Said girl was lounging in a corner, sleeping under a pile of discarded clothing scraps.

"What happened to Pinks?" Eddy walked over, debating whether or not to poke her out of fear she'd rise and attack him. "I thought she was so energetic, she was incapable of sleep."

"Her dad's tea shoppe had to go through a small sale or something to make up for closing for renovations. Must've been a heck of a sale." Clawdeen sipped on her tea, watching as the cloth scraps slowly rose and fall with quiet snores. "Just brought me some caffeine, crawled in there like a little goblin, and it was lights out."

"I've slept in stranger places, I suppose." Double D decided it would be best to let her be. "Though, I hope you have at least something for us to do, because we may have another commission to make."

"Preparing for Legacy Day?" Clawdeen said, not even missing a beat as she grabbed out some drawing from her sketchbook and passed them off to him. "Cerise has been complaining about it for a while now, so I figured you three would come in pretty soon. Got something for Ed too."

"Thank goodness." He flipped through them carefully, catching his eye at one of them. "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at this. We should be able to actually pay you since we are getting the occasional job now and again."

"I'll find something for you to do too, don't worry. Some of the sewing machines here need to fixed anyway." The werewolf didn't even look at Eddy before she spouted a command at him. "Put that needle down or else you're going to lose that hand, shortstack."

"How did you even know I had it?" Eddy asked indignantly.

"I have so many siblings, man. I know when they're up to something and you remind me of half of them." One of her ears flicked to the side before letting out a sigh, putting down her cup. "Speaking of which, I can hear my dear sister Howleen coming down the hall."

As if on cue, a door was opened up with a sudden jolt, a short and angry werewolf being followed by Ghoulia and an exasperated vampire.

"Clawdeen, stop getting your friends to spy on me! They're really annoying." The tiny werewolf stomped and pouted up her sister. "I was about to talk to Romulus before they came along."

"Considering what they've been telling me, it sounds like they're doing their job." She patted the little werewolf on the head before pulling out her sketchbook again. "I keep tellin' you, Howleen, he's old for you. And he's got a ghoulfriend, so he's off the market too. You should wait a couple years before you start dating."

"Why is everyone saying that?" Howleen stomped out of the room, grumbling to herself. She slammed the door behind her, causing everyone to jump once again.

"Little sister?" Ed asked. When he received a nod, he gave a sympathetic. "I got one too. Yells a lot louder and whines a lot more about being more mature than people think she is."

"And she's not the only one I got." Clawdeen rolled her eyes, sipping her tea again. She looked over Ghoulia and the vampire. "Thanks for the help there, ghouls. She's been a bit on edge lately."

"_It's not an issue. I had a feeling she was planning something and figured I should stop it in its tracks."_ Ghoulia pushed her glassed up on her nose, nodding to the Eds in greeting. _"She'll be thanking us for saving her from embarrassment later."_

"I do think maybe she could learn from all of this, if I didn't think it was mortifying either." The vampire's accent was heavy, adjusting her pigtails. "She really gave us a struggle, though. For someone so tiny, she can really put up a fight."

"Shorter people are closer to hell." The werewolf put down her drink and pointed at the three boys. "I'm assuming you've heard of these three clowns already?"

"Ah, right." The vampire curtsied at the boys, giving them a smile. While not all of her teeth were sharp, the two fangs stood out the most due to their unique shape. "I'm Draculaura. I've heard a lot about you three from my friend here. I'm assuming the tall one is Ed?"

"Yep!" Ed grabbed her hand and shook it hard, almost sending her keeling over. "These two are my friends, Double D and Eddy! Don't worry, Eddy just acts mean because he's a total sweetheart."

"Don't speak for me, Monobrow, I'm a disaster on feet." Eddy held up a needle, pointing it threateningly at the pile where Maddie resided. "I will wake Pinks up with this just to prove a point if I have to."

"It seems like she'll beat you to the punch first." Double D pointed out, raising an eyebrow."

"What are you- OW!" Eddy jumped, grabbing at his backside before turning to find the offender. Maddie giggled tiredly, still rubbing her eyes as she twirled the needle in her other hand.

"Nice try, Eddy. The Cheshire Cat can play better pranks than that in her sleep." Maddie stretched as she moved out of the pile. "Quite literally. A cat nap is considered a very dangerous thing in Wonderland."

"Nice to know you can keep up." Double D laughed, earning a glare from Eddy. He only gave him a cheeky smile before turning back to the hatter. "Hopefully you got plenty of rest. You've had a pretty busy day, or so I've heard."

"Yep! With the festivities coming up, it's only expected to get busier." Maddie didn't seem perturbed by that prospect. "If mom was around, it'd probably be much easier. Though, I guess I can make do."

"Yeah, yeah, we've all been pretty busy." Eddy looked over Clawdeen. "You'll have that ready soon, right? Kind of got this in late."

"Already well into the works." She waved him off, getting back into her own stuff. "Like I said, I was already expecting you guys."

"Then me and Sockhead should go. You comin' Ed?"

"Nah, I got some stuff to do here." Ed waved as Double D and Eddy moved on out with Maddie. "I'll see you guys later!"

"Have a good day!" They heard the vampire shout behind them as they walked away. When they were a good enough distance from the place, Eddy leaned over to Double D.

"So, how much you wanna' bet that she's related to Dracula."

"Quiet, Eddy."

* * *

"Alright everyone, the decorations should be set up within the hour!" Apple directed several students to move pieces of furniture throughout the room, checking things off her list. "Legacy Day is only a couple days away!"

"And we're halfway done, yet she's still going nuts over this." Cerise grumbled. She wasn't looking forward for the upcoming event, though she gladly did the work if only for the food. She could understand being excited for it, but that didn't Apple had to go on a frenzy about it.

"Hey Red." Cerise looked over to find Eddy and Double D walking over, deftly avoiding the chaos that was occurring around them. "Princess working you to the bone or something? Seems like she's hyped for this Legacy Day stuff."

"Pretty much." She dumped a box into it's proper place, sighing. "I get it and all, but I think she's overdoing it a little. I'm pretty sure it's not in her story to worry about everything being 'just right'."

"Right, that would be Blondie Lockes." Double D moved over to help Cerise carry over another box, mumbling to himself. "I suppose that its her fault that everyone here has been looking at me strangely since I arrived?"

Cerise winced as she took a cursory look around the room to find that some people were staring at him like he was an anomaly. "Yeah, sorry about her. She's okay in small doses, but she really doesn't know the meaning of privacy. She means well enough."

"Still, it does make my job quite a bit harder." Double D grunted as they shifted the box over onto a table, letting someone else handle unpacking it. "The point of all this was for me to blend into both schools and have as little conflict as possible occur. It wasn't exactly a cover, but it was most certainly blown."

"It's not like someone wasn't going to blab about it anyway." Eddy watched the people pass by, having not helped anyone out so far. "People love to gossip, and we happen to have plenty to add to the rumor mill. At least we have their attention."

"Trust me, that might not be for too long."

Eddy's eye twitched. "And of course, he's here too." He turned around, putting a big fake smile on his face that he hoped was annoying. "Charmless! Should've figured that you were here too. Can't wait to sign a magic contract saying you're going to kiss a sleeping girl in a coffin?"

"Why yes, actually." Daring responded, no self-awareness in reflected in his voice. He was flanked by two people, a girl and a boy, who rolled their eyes at his display. "I was surprised to hear that you were around. I didn't even know you had your story figured out just yet."

"I don't, thanks for reminding me." The short Ed boy did his best not to roll his eyes and failed miserably. This guy was absolutely no fun to tease. "You got some friends of your own too? I'm honestly surprised you look away from a mirror long enough to make some."

"Oh, this is just my brother and sister." He pointed to the boy, who honestly didn't look like he wanted to be here. "This is my baby brother, Dexterous." He pointed to the girl, who honestly seemed surprised that someone was actively being sarcastic to her brother. "This is my baby sister, Darling."

"Very alliterative." Double D couldn't help but observe. He was starting to understand why Eddy was beginning to hate puns right now. "I suppose that's to be expected when it comes to naming systems around here."

"I, uh, prefer Dexter to be honest." Said boy rubbed the back of his neck nervously, tapping his foot on the floor. "I don't really get the names either. I'm not exactly 'dexterous,' if I'm being honest."

"We talked about this, Dex, you're not supposed to sell yourself short." Darling elbowed him, sending him a small glare. She looked to Eddy. "And I'm assuming you're the new villain?"

"I'm in the villain _classes_, if that's what you're asking." Eddy shrugged. "Don't really get what the big deal is. Besides, the only person I've been annoying so far is your brother, and he's immune to insults, apparently."

Darling looked over to find said brother checking himself out in the mirror for the umpteenth time today. "I won't say you're wrong." She crossed her arms and looked down at him. "I do ask that you don't do anything to him that will scar him for life."

"Hey, I'm a nuisance, not a psychopath." Eddy rolled his eyes, though her gave her a lazy salute. "I won't do anything too bad. Scouts honor."

"That's all I ask." She seemed satisfied by this, shoving Daring's shoulder. "Come on, Dare, Apple asked to help with preparations. It wouldn't do good for your image if you were just standing around."

"But isn't my presence enough?" Daring asked, genuinely curious. He only received a push from his sister to move in the direction she wanted. Dexter followed behind reluctantly, giving them a little wave.

"I'm really going to make that guys life hell." Eddy said simply, earning two weirded out looks from the other two.

"Why? I mean, he is annoying, but why?" Cerise looked to Double D for answers, but he only shrugged back.

"He is way to full of himself." Eddy ignored the sighs as he decided to walk off into some random direction. "I'm going to cause some mayhem. Feel free to help with this circus if you want to."

"I'll be sure to." Double D went off with Cerise, looking around for the next task to commit to. "So," He started, unsure of where he wanted to take this. "Do you believe anything exciting will happen at this years Legacy Day?"

"I doubt it." Cerise scoffed, looking up at Apple, who was directing some dwarves into moving some sound equipment onto the stage. "It's probably going to be as uneventful as ever."

* * *

Ed was enjoying today. He really was. He met up with some friends, Eddy and Double D were getting into the school's full swing, and he seemed to be making good progress in his schoolwork for once! It honestly felt like a dream come true with how everything was going smoothly.

Of course, unlike Double D and Eddy, he didn't have the foresight to realize that maybe this was not going to last if the world was going to have its way.

Ed was just simply moving on to his next class and having a good time with it. Some people seemed to move out of his way for whatever reason, but he didn't really mind because it just meant he'd get to class faster that way. Though, things got a little strange when he started to notice a crowd of students were meeting at the end of the hallway. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but he could hear what sounded like someone arguing with someone else in the middle of it.

Ed subtly tried moving into the crowd, stumbling through them with some trouble, but eventually reached a place where he could see it. He was right next to some guy with snakes for hair who looked really nervous, though he didn't really get what for.

He tapped the guy on the shoulder, noting the fact that he jumped when he did. "Is something going on? Whoever's yelling is pretty loud." Ed watched the boy frown nervously, eyes behind his sunglasses darting to the side.

"Just a misunderstanding, dude." The snake haired guy adjusted his sunglasses almost absentmindedly. "I was trying to help that new girl out with finding her classes, but I think my girlfriend took it the wrong way."

Ed realized he must be talking about Frankie but wasn't entirely sure how she would get herself into that situation. He attempted to look around the rare taller members of the crowd before he remembered something important.

Cleo existed and she was very clearly an insecure girlfriend.

It didn't look like she was attacking Frankie, to be completely honest. If anything, it looked like she was just trying to intimidate her to get her away from her boyfriend, who he distantly remembered was named Deuce. All of it was clearly for show and for the crowd, something her recognized from many of Eddy's own performances while committing a scam.

Frankie, to her credit, didn't appear to be taking any of it. While she wasn't exactly standing tall and defiant, it appeared she was pleading her case at as much as she could. She still seemed somewhat afraid of what was happening, but she very clearly wasn't doing too bad.

Didn't mean he wasn't going to go in and help.

"How likely do you think it is that Cleo will slap me?" Ed asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Pretty high." Deuce said, looking over the guy carefully. "Please tell me you aren't planning anything dude."

"Don't worry about it." Ed was already moving forward, despite some whispers and warning coming his way. Moving either bravely or stupidly into the makeshift arena, he smiled and waved at the two. "Frankie, Cleo, good to see you two! I didn't know you knew each other."

"Hello Ed," Cleo started instinctively before shaking her head and sending him a glare. "What in the world are you doing here?"

"Going to class." Ed shrugged, moving beside Frankie discreetly before smiling. "I was just wondering what you were doing. I mean, it's pretty cool that you're helping out the new student and all."

"I'm not," She looked confused now, unsure of what exactly he was doing. "What are you talking about? It's quite obvious that I'm chewing her out."

"Why?" Ed decidedly ignored any of the attempts from Frankie to catch his attention and stepped in front of her carefully.

Cleo narrowed her eyes at the boy in front of her. "She was flirting with my boyfriend." She tapped her foot on the floor impatiently, raising an eyebrow at him. "I was simply telling her to back off or face the consequences."

"That doesn't really sound like Frankie." The teen scratched his chin while discreetly putting his other hand behind his back. He motioned for Frankie to back away, though wasn't sure if she complied. "I mean, even if she was flirting, I'm pretty sure she'd back off. She's not a homewrecker or anything, so you don't need to yell at her."

Cleo bristled, even if the logic was sound. "Well, then shouldn't this be a lesson then? Besides, you aren't even involved in any of this. You should just learn to back off."

Ed shrugged, kicking at the floor. "I know, I know, mind my own business and stuff. But Frankie's a nice person and she's only 16 days old or something. She doesn't deserve to be yelled at. I also don't like seeing my friends argue with each other."

"Ed, we worked on that one project together and I've only known you for a few weeks. You're an acquaintance at most." The mummy pinched the bridge of her nose, eyes closed. "So, I'd prefer if you stepped aside right now, otherwise you'll learn what it's like to have locusts preying upon your house."

Ed gasped, eyes widening and getting wet with small tears. "We aren't friends?" He said it in a pitiful voice that caught everyone off guard. His face scrunched up and he huffed, turning to away. "Fine. Maybe I'll make Deuce my friend then. Hey Deuce!" Ed waved at the gorgon in the audience, who jumped. "You want to hang out later?"

"Uh," Deuce looked over at Cleo, who was giving him a fierce glare. "I'm not so sure I can today, dude. Maybe later though." He looked back in Ed's direction, only to blink with surprise clear on his face.

Cleo noticed his reaction and turned to look back at Ed, finding him missing. Apparently, with Frankie in tow.

The mummy stood there for about five seconds before letting out an angry scream that could be heard all across the school.

* * *

"Hey, Sockhead!" Eddy fiddled with the tie with limited success, trying to get it into that knot he was shown on that CrownTube video. Which he decided he hated simply because it was a pun. "I'm going to need some help here. My tie is apparently deciding not to work."

"It's impossible for a tie not to work, Eddy." Double D sighed, moving out from behind the curtain separating the room. Moving over, he grabbed Eddy's tie with a flourish and put it in a Windsor knot within a couple of seconds. "See, that wasn't so hard."

"To you maybe." Eddy subconsciously tugged at it, but his hands were swatted away by Double D. He groaned but didn't do it again. "Still can't believe they're making us dress up for this. Clawdeen did a good job and all, but that doesn't mean I want to wear a monkey suit around a bunch of sweaty teenagers."

"Yes, but you did say that we have to be stylish for this." Double D adjusted his own bow tie, straightening it out while smoothing down his hair. He turned to Eddy, watching as he grabbed one final accessory from an end table. "How do I look?"

Clawdeen had decidedly went for something simple with their suits designs, but ultimately still elegant looking. Eddy figured that if they kept this charade up for long enough, they'd probably just keep her on call whenever they needed something new, because he honestly never thought he would have liked how they looked in suits before.

Double D himself was wearing a white suit with red accents to it, the color scheme carrying a similar color scheme to his normal outfit. However, this outfit included white slacks and a white suit jacket instead of a labcoat. His vest was black this time with a white undershirt, though the accents and bowtie on his person were all colored red. The only thing that honestly clashed against the outfit was the fact that Double D was still wearing his hat, though that should've been obvious.

Eddy had an opposite color scheme for the most part. His colors were more traditional, having a black suit jacket and black pants in comparison to Double D's. His was buttoned up, with a white undershirt that was offset by the purple tie that his friend was gracious enough to help him with. His outfit had more yellow/gold accents to it, fitting more into his own traditional color scheme.

There was one difference though in that Eddy decided to add a little flair to the outfit himself by adding a pure black crown with sharp edges to it. In some lights, it looked like there were small purple flames at the edges, giving him a mysterious look.

"You look like a nerd pretending to be Hugh Hefner." Eddy snorted, dodging a punch sent from Double D's direction. He gave him a thumbs up, though, smirking. "It doesn't look half bad, though. Still not looking forward to this, but at least we good enough to go there."

"Thank you, Eddy. I have to admit, you do look good as well." Double D allowed himself a pause as he adjusted his bowtie once more. "Of course, that doesn't change that you look like, as the internet calls it, an 'edge lord'."

Double D avoided a punch from Eddy as well, laughing himself. Eddy grumbled, though he didn't have any way to argue against that. "Whatever. I still wish Ed could come along with us, though. That way the whole ceremony could actually be fun."

"He's dealing with some of the things going on at Monster High, Eddy. Cleo has to be held back from hurting that new girl and Ed unfortunately made that his responsibility." Double D wasn't sure how to feel about Ed's reputation at Monster High, but it at least appeared to be a good one. He himself had made sure to lay low so far, but he'd learned enough about the school's hierarchy to realize Ed was shaking things up a bit with his tricks. "At least it appears he learned something from us over the years, good and bad."

"Ha, yeah. Still can't believe he pulled that on Queenie." Eddy wiped a fake tear off his face, sniffing. "I'm so proud of him."

"You shouldn't, considering Cleo is now trying to figure out how to get back at him. Turns out, she's very vindictive." Double D checked over the iCoffin in his possession, going through the apps. "It appears he's thwarted her for now, but that doesn't mean she isn't going to make things difficult for him in the future."

"Small potatoes, Sockhead. Monobrow is an idiot, but he knows what he's doing. Plus, if Queenie becomes a problem, we'll become an even bigger one for her." Eddy made sure to clear out any messages on his MirrorPhone as well, muting it for the time being. "It's what we're best at, to be honest."

"That's true." The smart Ed boy looked around the room figuring that nothing else could be done. "I believe it's time for us to go. I think we've put off doing this for long enough."

"Yeah, yeah." Eddy put his hands into his pocket, moving to the doorway with slow steps. "Let's get this over with. I'm just glad we don't have to sign anything tonight."

"Same here. Beneficial or not, signing a mystical contract doesn't sit that well with me." Double D opened up the door leading out of their shared room, slipping out with Eddy.

They weren't expecting anything to happen that night.

* * *

The Legacy Day celebration was exactly what they expected it to be, if they were completely honest. It was kind of fun in the fact that everyone around was mingling together and having a good time, but it was dampened by the fact that everyone was practically dressed to the nines for this. Eddy and Double D looked fairly plain in comparison, even though Eddy felt he looked the best in his own outfit.

Eddy wasn't really focusing on the speeches too closely, and he doubted that Double D and any other people were doing so either. He was catching a lot of conversations in the background that were not about any of the things going on right then. It was nice to know that everyone here, magical or not, were still dumb teenagers who get bored really easily. It did bother that he couldn't find one particular person, though, until he noticed a certain black-haired girl sitting in a corner.

"Hey Rae!" Eddy smoothly walked over to the sorceress, smiling. "Glad to finally see someone fun at this party. Why are ya' hiding in a corner?"

"Not really my scene." Raven was startled to actually find someone willing to talk with her right now but figured that maybe she shouldn't be so surprised that it was Eddy. "It's not really my favorite time of year, to be honest."

"Yeah, it's just a bunch of rich people showing off their fancy clothes. Real annoying since I'm obviously the best dressed here." He smiled at the snort he got from Raven in response to his joke. "Good to know I'm not the only one that agrees."

"I can't say that people aren't intimidated by you. Though, I think I got you beat." She looked around at the empty space she was given morosely. "Maddie and Cerise are hanging out with other people right now, so it hasn't exactly been fun."

"Then let me lighten things up then." The short Ed boy grabbed a couple of drinks from a passing waiter, handing one off Raven. "What's got you down, anyway? I'm not happy to be here either, but I've been having fun by messing with some party goers."

"Is that why I've heard about someone feeling spiders crawl up their pants earlier?" The sorceress rolled her eyes as Eddy shrugged, not giving an answer. "It's hard to say. I don't think you want to hear it."

"Try me. I've got nothing better to do anyway." Eddy sipped whatever it was in the glass, finding that it tasted like one of his favorite sodas. It must've been enchanted, he realized, because he doubted anyone in this room drank anything that people in Peach Creek would've drank.

"It's," Raven started for a second, before sighing and rubbing at her eyes. She looked back up and didn't meet his own as she took a sip from her glass. "It's the whole signing thing. Everyone here expects me to sign the book and claim my birthright, but everyone is also afraid that I'll be exactly like my mom. It sends a lot of mixed messages."

"Yeah, a lot of people here don't seem to know what they want." Eddy leaned against the wall, looking at the party guests with disdain. "Everyone here is just posturing for the camera's and pretending that this is what they want. I'm not convinced of that."

"Is that so?" Raven chuckled some more, taking another sip from her glass. "Seems like everything Apple ever wanted it to be. She's been talking about this for days now."

"Princess is a hard book to read. I don't know if this is what she really wants either, so I wouldn't trust anything she says." Another sip was taken from Eddy as his eyes slowly went over to Raven. "What exactly do you want, Raven?"

"Can't really say. I've been told what I want by my mother since I was four." Raven contemplated the question, watching as Apple herself went on stage. "I suppose I just want to do whatever I want to do. I'd rather not be defined by my story or anything, especially if everything I do has everyone wanting to criminalize me for it."

"Then do that." Eddy shrugged off the questioning look he got from Raven. "You're right. The whole story thing doesn't change who you are at all, it's just one chapter of your life that's going to go by quickly. In fact," He snapped his fingers, pointing at her. "Do you even _want_ to do your story?"

"I don't, but," Raven blinked at the question, fiddling with her glass. "If I don't actually do anything, the story might disappear forever."

"There's no proof of that." Eddy rolled his eyes, putting his drink down on the table. "I mean, debate on that all you want, but I haven't heard of any proof that says that's true. For all I know, that's propaganda spread by the headmaster to keep people in line."

"But still!" Raven looked anxious, squeezing the glass in her hands. "That doesn't mean that it won't happen either."

Eddy groaned but decided to concede. "Just take it to mind, okay? At the very least, learn not to take what anyone's saying seriously. If they decide to base you off your story and your mom for the rest of their lives, then that's their problem." He drank the rest of his drink and threw it behind him, ignoring the sounds of glass breaking behind him. "I'd suggest making your decision soon, though. Your parts coming up."

He walked away, leaving a confused Raven behind. He grumbled to himself, looking around to find some other person to bother. He eventually found Double D scrubbing at some liquid on his suit.

"Not having any fun either, Sockhead?" Eddy lit up a hand and grabbed the liquid before it could begin to stain Double D's suit. He flicked it onto some random guy passing by, who failed to notice the back of his suit was now wet.

"Not that bad. I was able to talk to a few people, but a waiter spilled something on me." Double D sighed and nodded in thanks as he put his handkerchief away. "How's your night been so far? I can't imagine you've been behaving all that well tonight."

"I have. I just had a depressing talk with Raven though." Eddy smoothed back his hair, almost knocking his crown off kilter. "I'm wondering if all this destiny stuff isn't something we should be messing with. Doesn't seem like fun to have your whole life based on some stupid story."

"Indeed. It seems to be all people talk about sometimes." Double D looked at the stage before his eyes lit up. "It looks like it's Raven's turn to speak. I wonder what she has to say."

Eddy grumbled but shifted his eyes over to the stage anyway. He was once again glad that he wasn't going to sign tonight as he noted the attention swerve to the girl in front, the floating mirrors surrounding her. He liked attention, but he couldn't help but compare everyone gaze as being similar to hawks for some reason.

"And next," Headmaster Grimm announced, mood turning dour. "Is Raven Queen."

Thunder cracked as Raven walked up to the podium, anxiety palpable. The obvious show of favoritism set her off, causing her to look around the crowd.

"I am Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen. And I, uh," She hesitated as the key appeared before her, taking it out of the air. She unlocked the book, gulping on air.

The two Ed's weren't exactly at the best location to see the stage, but they couldn't help but notice the anxiety turn to shock as she looked over the pages. They didn't know much about the Book of Legends, but it apparently did show some part of a person's future.

"Somethings not right." Double D felt something in his stomach drop and his mind race. His heartbeat was starting to skip forward. These were familiar signs, though.

Something was about to go wrong.

A personal mirror appeared, showing Raven _something _they couldn't make out, but obviously set her off. When the mirror turned into a feather pen, they saw her reach for it and then just… stop.

Taking a deep breath, Raven started again.

"I am Raven Queen." Her eyes went over the crowd, promising something close to rebellion. "And I'm going to write my _own_ destiny. My happily ever after starts now."

Slamming the book closed, the mirrors set up across the stage shattered one by one. The sound of it reverberated across the stadium, causing most students to wince. It was almost immediately overtaken by the sound of everyone inside starting to shout, panicked and scared.

As Double D watched the stage, watching as Raven's resolve almost crumbled into immediate guilt. "Eddy," He started, voice small compared to the increasing volume of everyone else. "What exactly did you say to Raven?"

Eddy was watching the crowd as they began to freak out, hysteria spreading simply because of a few words said by the right person, and lamenting the fact that _this_ had to happen while _they were here._

"Enough, apparently." He said.

This was going to be a long school year.

* * *

**And now things are going to become even more complicated. For the Ed's I mean. But, we all expected that, right?**

**Either way, everyone has their motivations and stakes in this fight, and even the Monsters will soon realize that. Whether the Ed's realize that and how they think they'll help out depends on what they do next. They'll probably be dragged into it anyway, so no bother there.**

**I hope everyone is alright out there and I'll see you all next chapter!**


	13. Deterioating

**A hard chapter to write, but it's out here nonetheless. Hopefully you all enjoy it, especially since it sets up the main conflict once and for all. The Ed's have a lot to deal with now since things are going off the rails.**

**Also, extra news; I'm sort of starting something else now. I'll explain more about it at the end of the fic, but you guys might like it. Either way, enjoy the chapter and have a nice day!**

* * *

To say the least, the headmistress's room was tense. Bloodgood wasn't angry at the Ed's, but something had certainly put her in a bad mood.

The three boys were nervous, but still kept their bravado. They knew that they weren't brought up for a social visit, but they also knew what this was about.

"I'm sorry to bring you all up here." It sounded sincere, but the stress in her voice was still clear. "But considering recent events, I feel it's necessary to play catch up here. How have all of you been faring so far?"

"Pretty well, all considering. Blending in has honestly been a smoother process than we thought." Double D's voice was neutral, all considering. He wasn't lying in the slightest while he said this. "A few hiccups in backstories occurred, but we eventually smoothed those over. All to be expected."

"Of course, of course." Bloodgood wasn't surprised by this. She was honestly proud of the complexity of their disguises, especially since they did this on their own. She looked to Eddy and Ed as well, trying to discern their expressions. "Would either of you agree?"

"Pretty much." Eddy carefully inspected his nails, seemingly disconnected from the conversation. "We got everyone fooled. Have a transformation here, a little magic there, and the awesome invention or two, and nobody's caught on."

"We've made some cool friends too." While Ed wasn't oblivious to the tension in the room, he did act like he didn't. "They wouldn't know any difference if they didn't already like us. Plus, they're kind of helping us without knowing it."

The headmistress did know that and was also distantly impressed by it. Of course, as she loved all of her students, she did feel a slight pang of guilt at deceiving them in a roundabout manner. However, she stored that away. This wasn't the time to focus on that.

"Excellent." She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "And since you've been attending the schools, I'm assuming you know a decent amount of what's happening in them. Am I correct in that assumption?"

"Yeah. Our friends know a lot of people and we're able to obtain plenty of reliable sources of information." Double D adjusted his tie nervously. "Admittedly, some of them are almost to the equivalent of gossip rags, but we've made it easier to discern fact from fiction."

"Blondie Lockes and the Gory Gazette." Ed shrugged noncommittally. "Cool websites, not so great at reporting. Nice pictures though!"

Bloodgood nodded once more before straightening up, folding her hands in front of her. "Good. Because I have a question to ask since you three are my inside men on this."

The boys shrugged, shifting in their seats once more. They were expecting this since they came in.

Taking their silence as a response, she leaned forward and stated her question. "Just what in the world is going on right now?"

Eddy sighed, hand running through his hair. He looked her in the eyes before responding. "It all started after Legacy Day…"

* * *

The whole school had been ready to explode since Raven made her 'announcement' on Legacy Day. And while Eddy was a big proponent of chaos, this tense and suspicion wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

The lunchroom especially wasn't something he wanted to deal with either. All of the snide comments and the occasional arguments, in front of his sandwich?! It was really getting on his nerves.

He still didn't know what possessed him to sit at Apple's table today. Raven and Cerise were out and Double and Ed were unable to meet up, so that was one idea, but he could've just eaten alone. However, despite being annoyed by all of the petty drama, he still kind of lived for it. Unfortunately, it all sounded like rich person complaining to him.

"I can't believe any of this!" Some long-haired girl was having a panic attack, tugging on her hair. "How can she just decide not to follow her story?! That can't be possible."

"It seems to me that she just did, Holly." Briar didn't look to worried about it, poking at her salad half-heartedly. "I mean, she didn't sign the book. She closed it and walked off stage while everyone was booing. Seems like she made the decision herself." She stole a glance toward a worried Apple, who hadn't eaten anything since lunch started. "I'm sure she'll change her mind, Apple. It's not like she can continue doing this."

"She seemed so serious though." Apple fiddled with a loose pendant. Eddy would admit that he felt some concern as he'd never seen her this anxious before. "I've never seen her that angry or determined before. It was like she was a completely different person."

"Not to lay blame on anyone here," Eddy jumped in, despite the fact he very clearly didn't want to join in. "But you were coming on pretty strong with the whole destiny thing. We're in high school, Princess. Teenagers aren't really known for commitment."

"Says the guy who doesn't have any idea what his destiny is." Briar lazily pointed her fork at him, eyes narrowing. "Besides, we've been raised our whole lives for this. It's not like this is all new to Raven."

The short boy frowned. "You know, I'm surprised you aren't on her side about this. Seems like you'd have the perfect reason too."

"Why would she do that?" Daring was there, something Eddy had forgotten until now. The blonde had been staring into a mirror the entire time, so he'd been thankfully silent. "She gets her own happy ending and has a nice nap while doing so. Doesn't sound like too much of a fuss to me."

"I wouldn't call sleeping for _100 years_ a nap, Charmless." Eddy summoned a small pocket watch with a flicker of his magic, looking into it. "According to my calculations, our friendly neighborhood narcoleptic, is that you're sleeping for a _very_ long time."

"Doesn't seem that long when you compare it to those immortals from the Monster side." Briar took a bite from her salad. "100 years isn't a long time for them. Plus, I can skip right to the cool stuff."

"Yeah, when everyone you know is dead!" Eddy slammed his hands onto the table, pocket watch dissipating. "I know a girl that could have seen the wooly mammoths, but she knows how long 100 years is. Why do you think humans celebrate it when a guy becomes 112 or something?"

"It's not like we can." Apple wasn't liking the direction of this conversation. "We can only change so many details before something starts to break."

"Real funny when it comes from you, Princess." Eddy summoned another item into his hands, a book this time. He flopped down into his seat open it carefully. "Most of ya' don't even do half the things your stories used to do."

"We don't?" Holly didn't know what he was talking about, which only seemed to fuel her anxious state more.

"Yeah, ya' don't." The short Ed boy flipped some pages before pointing at Holly. "Assuming that Long Hair is Rapunzel's kid, she's supposed to have twins, be sent into the wilderness to die, and her prince goes blind out of grief. Surprisingly, I haven't heard anything weird about your parents."

Ignoring the horrified look, he looked pointed at Ashlynn off in the distance. "Her stepsisters would have to cut off their own heels and toes to make the glass slipper fit. Not sure if they died or anything, but I can't imagine they live that long after something like that. I'm guessing that's not there anymore either."

Turning to Briar finally, he looked over the notes on her story. "There used to be a version of your story that happened _before _the Grimm Brothers version where you pretend to sacrifice your children to an ogre queen. Again, that doesn't seem to happen anymore either."

Closing the book up, he gestured to Apple too with an indignant look. "Heck, Princess, your story doesn't have that True Loves First Kiss stuff. You're supposed to wake up by spitting out a part of the apple that poisoned you. Charmless is effectively useless in that equation unless the whole thing was made to create political marriages."

"I'm sorry, what we were we talking about?" Daring asked, having not been listening.

Eddy groaned, flashing the book away with a flick of his wrist. "Of course, you weren't listening. Trophy husbands never do."

"As… _informative_ as that was," Apple started, looking dazed despite knowing the details herself. "That doesn't change the fact that Raven is outright refusing to do our story. Not only is there no chance for a Happy Ending if she refuses, our story could outright disappear."

Eddy did shrink a little at that. "Ya' got me there." He slumped forward in his seat, grabbing his sandwich to take a bite out of it. "You can try to convince her, but I don't she's going out without a fight. I don't what she saw in those mirrors up there, but it was enough to scare her off."

"Oh, come on, don't back off now!"

The entire table jumped as the sound of a voice a table away shouted at them. Turning around, they saw a boy with a buzzcut and combed over brown hair standing there indignantly. He didn't look happy at what he just listened to.

"You were making a pretty good argument there! Heck, you had me pretty convinced." The boy tapped his foot, rolling his eyes. "Made more sense than anything the Royals have been saying since this all started."

"Royals?" Eddy never heard that one before. "The heck are you talking about?"

"Don't listen to the Rebel, Eddy. Just because he thinks Raven has a point doesn't mean that he's an official figure on the subject." Daring waved it all off, not taking any of this seriously.

"Rebel- Wait, you guys are already making sides on this?" Eddy stood up, looking between the two with surprise. "I mean, I get that people aren't going to agree on this, but named sides? Seriously?"

"The entire school has been going into a serious panic over this and many people are finding that it's a very divisive subject." Apple seemed especially nervous at this. "Turns out Raven has quite the following, even though her actions are a little extreme."

"This is ridiculous." Eddy knew that was something Raven wouldn't want, even if he wasn't here long. That was just insane. "The school can't be going to war just because one girl didn't sign a magical contract."

"It is if it's the Book of Legends." Daring put down the mirror and looked at the boy with the buzzcut. "Look, Hunter, I'd suggest quieting down. You wouldn't want Headmaster Grimm to hear you."

"Who cares what Headmaster Grimm thinks?" Hunter scoffed. "He isn't even here. He's been in his office since Legacy Day, so he's no help."

"Whatever." Daring went back to preening himself in the mirror. "Do what you must. I certainly won't stop you."

Hunter definitely didn't like this, bristling at the dismissive comment. "At least look at me while I'm talking to you!" He grabbed a piece of pizza from his lunch tray and launched it at Daring.

Eddy suppressed a laugh as the greasy good slipped down the boy's face. He didn't though, since Daring almost immediately got up to throw whatever it was on his plate at Hunter.

He wasn't sure who yelled out to start a food fight, but it was warning enough to teleport out of incoming fire. He appeared a couple of tables away, watching as the chaos unfolded as several tables went to absolute war with each other. Lasagna, pizza, and whatever else was on the menu for that day.

It would've been fun if it didn't send a pit down into his stomach.

* * *

"I'm assuming that isn't the only incident?" Bloodgood looked disheartened by this news, nervously playing with the keychain she got from them.

"Some other stuff happened, but it was just arguing between a lot of people. Nothing as serious as a food fight." Eddy didn't look happy about it either. "Apple's is more or less anxious about everything, which makes the rest of the 'Royals' anxious, with the 'Rebels' just running around. I haven't heard anything from Raven."

"That's certainly disadvantageous." While the sorceress didn't appear to be leading a revolution on purpose, it would be important to get in contact with her to maybe calm things down. Bloodgood had no intention of making her change her stance, but it is pertinent that they found her to stop things before they escalated further. "We're going to have to change that if things continue at this rate. I hope she hasn't left the school."

"She hasn't." Everyone turned to Ed, who rubbed at his neck nervously. "I actually know where she is if you want. But she did make me promise to keep it secret."

The headmistress raised an eyebrow at this. "That would be good to know, actually. How do you happen to know this?"

Ed straightened up, a look of concentration entering his face. "You know everything that happened in the science building yesterday, right?"

"Of course." She nodded, pulling out the file related to the incident. "I remember your involvement in that as well."

"Yeah," Ed leaned back, thinking it over. "Raven actually called me while I was going to class…"

[LINE BREAK HERE]

"You sure you don't want to stay in the Ever After High dorms?" Ed talked into the iCoffin with trepidation, unsure of how to go about the subject. He'd only heard some things from Double D and Eddy about what was going on, but he knew things were pretty bad. "I mean, I get it, but running from it doesn't sound right."

"_**Things are a little too heavy right now for me to do anything about it. I just need to bug out for a little bit before trying to fix things."**_ Despite the logic being sound, Raven didn't sound convinced of it herself. _**"Besides, I'm pretty sure Monsters will write me off as a witch if they see me around there. Maybe."**_

"Probably. Might have to change your look." Ed saw Ghoulia in the farther down the hallway, messing with her locker. He waved at her, speeding up a little. "Any idea who you wanna stay with?"

"_**I'm honestly not picky. I just don't want to deal with anything right now. God knows all the looks I get from Apple are making me feel guilty enough." **_A clanking could be heard on the phone, which Ed recognized as the sound of a suitcase closing. _**"I promise this won't be too long. I just need to hide out right now."**_

The boy winced, stifling any other excuse he could make right now. Ever After High did sound almost ready to start an angry mob, so maybe she should get away from the worst of it.

Ghoulia, who was already heading close to him, could see the look on his face. _"Is everything alright?"_ She didn't necessarily see him when he wasn't smiling, so this was honest concern coming from her.

"Raven's looking for a place to hide out for a bit. Some things are going down at Ever After and she needs a place to be between classes." The Ed boy moved the phone away from his ear for a second. "Know a place that could take her in for a little bit?"

"_She can board with me for a little bit."_ Ghoulia shrugged, looking somewhat noncommittal. _"I actually live in the dorms, but I don't exactly use much that much except for sleeping. I'm either in the lab and don't really have a roommate."_

He nodded, putting the phone back on. "Would you be okay rooming with Ghoulia?"

"_**Uh, sure. I mean if she doesn't mind. I don't plan on staying longer than a few days."**_ There was as moment of hesitance before Raven started speaking again. _**"I can get there at the end of the day. I'll leave a note for Apple, so she isn't surprised."**_

Ed looked at the zombie and gave her a thankful look, causing her to nod. "Good to hear. Hope this blows over soon."

"_**Me too. Thanks for the help."**_ She hung up then and there, causing Ed to hang up too. He gave Ghoulia a smile, walking beside her to head to their classes.

"Thanks. I didn't know who else to ask about this." Ed knew he'd get to class little later, but he made sure to match his step with hers. "Raven's not exactly in the best spot right now, so…"

"_I know. We get the Blondie Lockes girl's broadcasts here and things look pretty tense."_ She popped open a soda can, drinking from it. _"It's honestly not that hard to relate. Things aren't going to well on this side of the tracks either."_

"Seriously?" Was everything falling apart around here?! Ed thought about getting the others and maybe talking to Bloodgood about this. "What's going on over here that's got everyone worried?"

"_Headmistress Bloodgood had to take in some students from a couple of rival boarding schools not that long ago."_ The zombie looked around, like she was expecting people to eavesdrop on them. _"One of them was for vampires, and the other was for werewolves. It was thought to be a good idea at the time, but that kind of changed after school started."_

"Why's that?"

Ghoulia sighed. _"Werewolves and vampires are natural enemies in the Monster world."_

Almost as if to prove her point, they heard a crash occur within a hallway not far from them, causing them to speed up. It sounded a lot like glass, which wouldn't be surprising in the science building, but the arguing following shortly afterward was what caused the greatest concern.

From what they could tell, it looked like a normal argument between some vampire and a werewolf. If only there wasn't a group of each behind their respective monster, growling at each other like they were lions on Pride Rock. It wasn't a pretty picture, especially since it was over a single broken beaker.

"I would've thought a dog like you would hear me coming, but I guess you need your hearing checked." A blonde vampire was staring at a taller werewolf, baring his fangs at him with an overconfident smirk.

"Must be, because I _really_ don't believe what I'm hearing right now." The werewolf was staring the vampire down, growling in a low baritone. "And I wonder what'll happen if I hear more of it. Feel free to test that."

"_This isn't good."_ Ghoulia looked over the other monsters in the hallway, noting how half of them were preparing to either join a fight or watch one. _"It doesn't appear that anyone's willing to stop either of them. If anything happens…"_

"If what happens?"

The two turned to their heads to the side, watching as Cleo came down with an air of annoyance. Deuce was close behind her, giving Ed and Ghoulia a nod, a look of hesitance crossing his face.

"Ed." Cleo regarded the boy coolly, looking him over. "I see that you're doing well. Is Frankie still hiding behind you?"

"Not today." Ed didn't get the sarcasm behind it. "She's off at her Clawculus class, I think. We were just watching those two." He pointed at the scene going on down the hallway.

Cleo looked briefly and scoffed, realizing what it was in under a second. "Seriously? They're having another fight today? Typical." She moved past them, haughty and preparing to shut it down. "They'll have to learn that they can't fight in _my_ school if they want to stay here."

"_Cleo, I don't think-"_ The zombie was silenced with a shush as the mummy walked down towards the two. As soon as Cleo got a good ways to them, she cleared her throat.

"I'd suggest you two break it up before a teacher comes on by." She said it authoritatively, like she was attempting to calm the masses at a political rally. "Considering this is the third incident since the school year started. I highly doubt Bloodgood will allow this to continue even further."

"Get off your high horse, De Nile, this ain't about you." A random werewolf called out, earning some whistles and howls from his side.

"The mutts right." A vampire in the crowd chortled. "Just pass on through. Isn't any of your business."

"Excuse me?" Cleo held a hand to her chest, offended by the disrespect. "Just because you all happen to be from different schools _does not_ mean that you can-"

In the middle of her ranting, someone (from one crowd or the other) had thrown a petri dish in her direction. It was unclear what it was, but considering it most likely came from somewhere in the Mad Science labs, it was most likely nothing good.

Cleo didn't have to deal with it splattering on her, though, as she was suddenly snapped up by a tentacle that wrapped around her. Pulling her back suddenly, she was deposited into Deuces arms.

Several other ones appeared, grabbing the feuding monsters and separating them, pulling them upwards until they were near the ceiling. Catching the attention of the rest of the crowd, they followed the tentacles to the source.

Ed, said only a few words to the crowd as they watched him unfold few more tentacles from his body. "Is everybody going to keep calm _now?_" The last bit came out threatening, the free tentacles poised to strike at whoever tried anything.

Despite the bravado from earlier, the crowd couldn't help but bow out, feeling a sense of malice from his side of the hallway. Some mumbled and tried to stay back but joined the crowd soon after.

Cleo huffed, moving delicately out of Deuces arms as she brushed herself down. "I suppose I owe you one for that." It sounded like it pained her to say it, tapping a heel on the floor as she looked up at the tall boy.

"I'll," He paused, looking up at the clock with a pensive expression, then looking at the dissipating crowd. "I'll get back to you on that. I need to get to class."

* * *

"Not much else happened after that." Ed shrugged. "I didn't talk to anyone else after that and everyone kind of avoided me. I don't even know what that whole 'natural enemies' stuff is about."

"It's a difficult situation to explain." Bloodgood was already planning out several announcements to make to the visiting schools. That kind of behaviors was _not_ acceptable as long as she was in charge. "Anything else you've heard?"

Ed looked to Double D, who sighed. "The whole school has been on edge due to the infighting." Double D had to ask a few people that weren't immediately wary of him. "Supposedly, their behavior has led to some inherent relations between monster become much more tense."

That only upped the importance of addressing the school about this. "You did a good thing, Ed, but I do suggest you find an easier way of deterring people." She clacked her fingernails on the wooden desk. "I'd also make sure to keep Cleo up on that favor she owes you. It would be an excellent thing to keep in mind."

Ed nodded. Bloodgood moved her attention solely onto Double D.

"Both of those incidents, however, were not why I brought you into my office." She pulled out another folder, her frown the deepest it had been since their conversation had started. "Eddward. Do you mind explaining what happened afterschool yesterday?"

Double D looked to be the most uncomfortable, looking between his friends with trepidation. After a couple of seconds, he sighed and started his own story. "I was with Clawdeen, Cerise, and Madeline when it happened…"

* * *

"Mr. Hackington really should ease up on homework a tad." Double D flitted through a list of the assignments the Mad Science teacher had given. "As much as I like the subject, he really doesn't take into account how much time students actually have."

"Can't be worse than Professor Stiltskin." Cerise sipped at her soda, leaning against the cold stone of the ruined castle behind her. "He'll give out a test on seven different chapters after telling us to read five other ones the night before. I think he's just out to get us."

"That's rough." Clawdeen was trying to get ahead in her current homework, hating every second of it. "Isn't there some kind of union on your side of the pond? I'm pretty sure he can't do that type of stuff."

"Oh, we'd report him if he didn't have tenure." Maddie was balancing herself on a tree branch, playing some game that only she understood. "He's lucky he doesn't live in Wonderland. I'm sure the Queen of Hearts would've made short work of him."

"…I really don't know if that was a pun." Double D set down his work with a roll of his eyes, though it was fond. They'd started doing this after a couple of days when it was proven that there were some pretty strict teachers at both schools. While it wasn't all studying, it was nice to have some more friends outside of Ed and Eddy for once. "Though, I wouldn't exactly condone decapitation in his case, I'm sure he'd behave quite a bit better there."

"You've only had him for a little bit. Trust me, you'll wish he met Queen of Hearts eventually." Cerise knew she was neglecting her Crownculus homework, but she had too much on her mind. "Oh, Maddie? Have you heard anything from Raven? About, you know…"

Maddie leaped off the tree branch, landing beside the rest of them. Sitting down and crossing her legs, she hmphed and put her chin into her hands. "Nothing. She's been pretty quiet and everyone else has been asking me about her, so I don't have any answers. A lot of people are still pretty mad over it."

"Considering she threw years of tradition in the faces of everyone there, I can understand laying low for a little while." Clawdeen gave up on understanding the numbers on the paper, putting the paper down in favor of the more interesting conversation. "Personally, good for her. She didn't seem like she was happy about the whole thing if I'm honest."

"I can't say that I don't support her decision either, though I wish Ever After High wasn't in such an uproar about it." Double D twirled his pencil, checking a few things off his list. "Though I did get a message from Ed earlier about her. I think she's staying with Ghoulia until the worst of it blows over, which might be the wise decision."

"Good for her. It really hasn't been fun without her though." Maddie leaned into Double D's shoulder with a sigh, ignoring the nervousness it brought him. "Any idea when she'll be back?"

"Hopefully soon." Double D looked over at Clawdeen. "And everything with the boarding schools?"

"Not that great. Still plenty of infighting and it's getting more annoying than anything else." The werewolf stifled the urge to roll her eyes. "My brothers been trying to ease things down with some of them, but it's not going anywhere. The more we try to talk them down, the more they just want to fight each other."

"At least someone's trying on your end. Nobodies willing to talk each other down on ours." Cerise put the empty soda into her bag, sighing. "I'm just hoping this doesn't escalate. It could be a lot worse if this gets outside of the school."

"Knowing the author's writing style, you probably just set up the next beat of the story." Maddie only looked up briefly at the others before shrugging. "I'm just saying."

"I really don't get you sometimes, Mads." Clawdeen laughed but stopped after a second. Her ears twitched, eyes narrowing. "…Do you any of you hear that?"

"None of us have super hearing, so I'm going to say no." Double D put down his book, concern falling over his face. "Is everything quite alright?"

Clawdeen didn't respond for a few seconds, concentrating on the sound herself. Cerise, strangely enough, appeared to be doing the same thing, looking between everyone, nerves on edge.

And just a second before someone would be brave enough to ask another question, Clawdeen was already up and running into some random direction with purpose.

It, surprisingly, didn't take long for Double D to scramble himself up from his position, octo-arms out and ready. "Clawdeen!" He yelled out to the rapidly disappearing werewolf, using his arms to grab Cerise and Maddie. "Wait up! We don't have superspeed!"

While moving on just two octo-arms was difficult, it still didn't take long to catch up to their friend. The longer strides matched a werewolf's speed slightly, if only leaving them slightly behind. However, they did see what was happening around the same time.

While Double D wasn't very familiar with the more sports-oriented crowd at Ever After High, he did recognize some of the people as members of the fencing team. They were arguing with some members of Monster High, some of which he recognized as being part of the Casketball team. One of them, a minotaur that Ed identified as Manny one time, was arguing with the guy at the front. A werewolf hung back, seemingly trying to talk them all down.

None of them were particularly sure what was being said, but it probably wasn't good. Especially since it appeared some of the members of the fencing team had their equipment on them while this was occurring.

Double D may have reacted on instinct when he put Cerise and Maddie down, moving in suddenly. He was able to snatch up the three Ever After High students with one arm before they could react, shutting the argument down before it could escalate. It was something of a miracle that nobody reacted violently as Double D settle onto the grass, frowning heavily.

"I really hope none of you were planning to have a fight right now." Despite a heavy amount of nerves, his voice came out calm. "It would look bad on all of us if anything came to violence. _Especially_ with weapons on their person." He looked at the Ever After High students with a cold eye. "I'm sure Headmaster Grimm would like to hear about this. I hope you have a good excuse for this."

"We didn't do anything! They just walked up to us complaining about some weird thing going on at their school!" One of the guys said, struggling against the restraints.

"That's a load of minotaur crud!" Manny pointed out, stomping his foot. "We were just walking around when they started blaming us for some 'Rebel' stuff. We don't even know what they're talking about!"

"Quiet!" Everyone shut up at that, shrinking back at the tone. Double D was glad that no one could tell that he was about to start shaking, despite the authority he tried to exude. "I don't care who started it. However, the only reason I don't bring you in personally is because you weren't carrying weapons. I'd suggest going to Bloodgood to report your own side on this as well."

The male werewolf, finally making himself know stepped up. "I'll take them there! As long as that's okay?"

"As long as Bloodgood is informed, that's fine by me." The smart Ed boy moved up onto several more of his octo-arms. "Assuming that they'll cooperate."

"Why the heck would we do that?" Manny tried to stand taller, turning to the werewolf. "We don't have to listen to this guy, Clawd. Why are you backing down?"

"I was trying to stop you guys!" Clawd sighed, grabbing Manny's shoulder, pulling him away from the scene. "Besides, he's friends with that Ed guy. You don't want to mess with any of that."

_That_ changed the guys tune fairly quickly, eyes widening and immediately turning towards Monster High without a word. It was honestly a relief, though, considering how much worse it could've been.

Double D almost hesitated, but he sent a look to the others. "I'll have to leave for now. Sorry to cut this short."

He received some platitudes, but he didn't stay longer to hear anything else. Nothing about this sat right with him, especially with some of their comments.

He had a feeling this type of thing would only occur more often.

* * *

It was silent for about a minute as the headmistress took all that information in. She tapped her fingers together, contemplating. Eventually, she let out a loud sigh.

"This isn't good." If felt like she was stating the obvious, but it was important to say it. "While I have made sure to punish Manny and his friends for their part, this doesn't fix the issue entirely. I'll have to take a more active role in the matter."

"The Ever After High students were also properly punished. Several days suspension, along with a month's detention due to the weapons on their person." Double D fiddled with his fingers, looking at Ed as well. "You also seem to have a reputation, Ed. Care to explain why?"

"Well," Ed laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "You know, just talked with some people. Made some friends."

"Jeez, you guys are getting tough guy reputations and everything?" Eddy leaned back in his chair, annoyed and somehow insulted. "I'm in the actual villain classes here and you guys are already making names for yourselves. Things really are going nuts out there."

Bloodgood snapped her fingers, catching their attention. "I'd like to hear your suggestions on moving forward in this. I have a few ideas of my own, specifically on my school, but I'm open for any."

"Oh!" Ed jumped up, waving his hand in the air. "Some people have been talking about getting some band to play here. Maybe if they come around, that could distract some people on the Monster's side."

"If you can get them, consider it done." Bloodgood looked over at Eddy. "Any idea how to lower tensions at Ever After High?"

"I'm thinking as long as we can get Raven and Apple to make some kind of statement together, things might calm down. If not, go for the distraction route." Eddy didn't necessarily know how he would get those two together long enough to hash something out, but he was fairly confident in himself. "I'll look into anything else, but that's probably our best bet."

"Good." Hopefully, those two would listen to reason if need be. However, that didn't fix the ongoing issue _between_ the schools. "Do you have any plans on your end, Eddward?"

"Possibly." Double D wasn't exactly sure how to tackle something like this, but he figured that he would have to put some significant effort into making something happen. "I do believe some more events between the schools would be pertinent to our situation. Of course, some more resources will have to be allocated to help make those happen."

"Any idea for an event is welcome as long as it's within specific parameters." Bloodgood reached inside her desk and pulled a folder out. Opening it, she gave out some more news. "You will also not be the only dual student by the time the week is done. I plan on adding another one in order to make things easier on yourself. A Chariclo Arganthone Cupid, preferred to be called 'C.A. Cupid,' will be attending the schools soon enough. I ask that you show her around, especially in the media areas of the schools."

"Done and done." Double D was glad for the possible help, foot tapping on the floor. He looked over everyone and gave the headmistress a wary glance. "Do you believe everything is going to be alright, Headmistress? This is a very precarious situation."

Bloodgood sighed once more, the headache throbbing in her head incessantly. "I hope so. I sincerely hope so."

Those last words would haunt the boys as they were dismissed to commit to their plans.

A very precarious situation indeed.

* * *

**Things are certainly getting heated up, especially with tensions on the rise. Hopefully the Ed's have a few ideas in mind, otherwise their goose might be cooked.**

**Also, as I said at the beginning, I have something to announce; I'm starting a collection of drabbles and one-shots set in this universe! It's in another fanfiction that you'll find on my page, and it will mostly focus on certain aspects or other things involved with this fic. No spoilers for the main story, but it will feature many of the same themes as the story goes on. Only one thing is on there so far, but I will expand if inspiration is running low or a plot bunny comes to me. Leave your suggestions on what I could write at "Blending In: Drabbles and One-Shots!"**


	14. Plans onto Plans

**My updating schedule seems to get more and more inconsistent as time goes on, huh? At least you guys get it sooner.**

**I hope you guys weren't too much in suspense, as the next chapter is here! Things are still going steady, with the Ed's planning their next move and making their case heard to anyone that hears it. For better or worse, of course.**

**Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The Ed's had participated in so many harebrained schemes in the past, it was almost weird when they weren't planning their next strange adventure. They did other things such as hang out and watch movies, sure, but scams were their bread and butter.

And while this plan wasn't a scam like the ones they were in right now, it had all the makings of one. Strangely enough, that made Double D almost feel calm about doing his part of the plan.

C.A. Cupid. A student with good grades, a polite personality, and her goal as a cherub was to help people find love. An interest in broadcasting, whether radio, television, and other noted forms.

Her goal was to help people of both schools find their true love one way or another. His was to maybe see if he could use that to make the schools closer in some way, shape, or form.

Double D figured that it was possibly manipulative for him to do something like this, which he did bring up with his 'welcoming committee.'

"I can't say that it isn't a little bit… _opportunistic _to do that. But I can't really say it's a bad idea either." Cerise toyed with the idea, a complicated expression on her face. They decided to hang out on the Monster side of town in while waiting for Cupid to show up. "I mean, it sounds like you're using her, but it's not for a bad reason."

"I think as long as you tell her about it, she won't mind the idea. She's going to both schools, right?" Clawdeen was going over the designs she was commissioned for, consciously fighting the urge to chew on her pencil. Her ears twitched occasionally to indicate she was listening to the conversation. "I doubt she'd put up a fight. You don't ask to go two schools because you don't like the people in one of them."

"I'm just curious about what she's like." Maddie was doing a balancing act on one of the stone walls, tongue sticking out with concentration. "How does she plan on fitting in, by the way? We don't really know what she looks like."

"As long as it's someone that's pink and has wings, that's apparently her." Double D had been only given a brief description on how she would look. A shapeshifter of some kind apparently. "As for any other distinguishing characteristics, that depends on situation to situation."

"That isn't vague at all." Cerise jumped up and mumbled something about staying sitting around too long. "How long till she makes it to us? I'm getting antsy."

"Not long. She should be here within the next few minutes." Double D looked at his own iCoffin. It really was as he said, considering the time. "I hope she isn't- oh, I think that's her."

Most of them moved up to turn and see a girl walking down the street. She looked confused and was obviously lost, judging from the look on her face. More importantly, she had wings on her and had bright pink hair.

Double D figured it would be best to stop her confusion now. "Excuse me?" He waved to her, catching the pink girl's attention. "It isn't too much to assume that your C.A. Cupid?"

"Oh, thank goodness, I thought I was lost." Cupids wings fluttered in a way that showed her relief. "I've never been down here before, so the landmarks were pretty confusing."

"That's fair. All the gargoyles on the buildings around here tend to blend together sometimes." Clawdeen greeted her as well, shaking her hand. "Glad to have you aboard here. Wanted to make sure you had a good welcome wagon here."

"Exactly!" Maddie grabbed Cupid's other hand and shook it as well, smiling widely. "Can't believe we're going to be having two part-time students. Hope it isn't that scary. What do you plan on doing here, anyway?"

"Maddie, stop interrogating the girl, you're scaring her." Cerise pulled the hatted girl back, nonchalantly shaking the girl's hand as well. "Sorry, she's excited. I hope you like high school, because we've got a lot of people like this around here."

"I don't really mind." Cupid only looked slightly frazzled by it but seemed glad that everyone here was so friendly. She looked around at everyone, eyes squinting. "Are you _all_ going to Monster High? I mean, don't get me wrong, but I'm pretty sure some of you aren't Monsters."

"Some of us attend Ever After High. We figured that having some students from both schools would be beneficial to showing you around here." Double D moved back into the forefront, adjusting his tie. "I'll be the other dual-student, so we'll likely be working closely. I figured introducing you to other people would be beneficial to making friends around here."

"Well, I can't say I don't appreciate it." The winged girl raised an eyebrow and looked him over. "I can't really tell what you are. Some type of disguise?"

"In a way," Double D realized how good he was in dealing in half-truth by now, which would've been shameful if it didn't work to his advantage. "My status as dual-student is public, but what exactly I am is not. It's suggested you can do the same, but not required."

"I don't really have much to hide I guess," Cupid mumbled before eventually shrugging. "I'll figured something out, I suppose."

"Well, since we've all become friends right about now," Clawdeen put her hand on the new girls' shoulders, casually showing the fangs in her smile. "Where do you want to go first? We got all day to visit both schools."

Cupid thought about it before she looked at them, a little embarrassed. "Monster High wouldn't happen to have a multimedia room, right?"

* * *

Monster High did indeed have a media room, something Cupid seemed especially excited about. She was moving all about, checking on some of the equipment with interest, flicking on certain camera's that lied about. It was pretty impressive place, though it could use better lighting.

"Some of the equipment here is pretty old, but I can definitely work with this." She sorted through some of the more high-tech stuff, checking their durability. "It seems like it's more focused on radio. Maybe we can get some camera equipment from Ever After High."

"You'd have to ask Dexter Charming about that. He's in charge of most of the tech-based stuff there." Cerise tapped her foot on the ground. "I think he'll jump at the chance to work on something outside of Blondie's newscast."

"You think he'll help her? Knowing Eddy, he's probably run into him since he's Daring's brother." Maddie played with one of the spiders climbing about on the walls. "Then again, Dexter's cool. Could use a vote of confidence, though."

"We'll have to hope he didn't scare him off." Clawdeen chuckled. She looked over at Cupid, who was studying another piece of equipment. "Speaking of which, you're planning some kind of show to do here, right? What's the subject?"

"Ah, right. Makes sense that you're curious." She put down the item she was looking over. "As a cherub, my job is to help people find love. My own domain, of course, focuses more on young love. I think doing an advice show would be a good way to do it."

"Are you doing two shows?" Maddie attempted to be subtle, which didn't really translate to her personality type. "Seems like that would be a lot of trouble. Probably simpler to do one."

"Well, maybe. It would be pretty difficult if I had to do it in two different places." Cupid looked pretty confused at first. She looked over everyone with suspicious eyes. "Is something going on?"

Double D sighed. It was probably about time to be straightforward about this.

"Let me cut to the chase," He straightened up and looked her in the eye himself. "You were told the main reason why you were accepted to study at both schools, correct?"

"Pretty much. We're supposed to be some form of example of how both schools can interact with one another peacefully." Cupid said it in a matter of fact way. She didn't necessarily know what was going on, but she guessed this had something to do with it.

"We kind of figured that if your show would be a good way to start with that. I guess you're ahead of the curve when it comes to that." Cerise pulled at her hood, feeling a little embarrassed. "Sorry about giving you the third degree there. We just weren't really sure how to bring this up."

"Things have just been really… _tense,_ around here." Double D knew that was minimizing the problem as it was, but it had to be stated. "A few problems within the schools have started to boil over, making tensions between them rise even more than usual. The conflicts have been nonviolent so far, but it would be pertinent to prevent any incidents that may occur."

"My brother tried to stop a fight the other day that would've probably ended up with him getting hurt." Clawdeen frowned deeply at that, ears drooping downward at the memory. "Some idiots had swords. If anything went wrong, I don't know what would've happened."

"I got a friend who's in a bad situation. Not technically my sister, but close enough." Maddie had noticeably dimmed as well, not looking Cupid in the eye. "It's only at my school that counts, but a lot of people are mad at her right now and I want things to slow down a bit. Something like this could help."

"We're not trying to guilt trip you," And Double D seriously meant that. Appealing to her was the main priority, but he wasn't going to gaslight someone like this. "You have complete free reign over your show. But a shared program would certainly help, if only in bringing people together."

Cupid seemed little surprised by all of this, but she didn't wait to nod. "You guys really don't have to ask, I'm already in. Just didn't expect to hear that on your first day."

"Sorry," That probably was very rude and somewhat manipulative, now that Eddward thought about it. But he also felt a sick satisfaction that she was on their side. "I suppose that was a bit heavy, but my introduction to this was about as intense."

"I get it, it sounds pretty bad. Makes me understand a little how serious this all is." The pinkette did seem to realize the gravity of her position but was holding up well. She stopped and thought something over. "Might want to go with a pretty good disguise then."

The cherub snapped her fingers, magic enveloping her slowly as her form changed. Double D saw her outfit change into something a bit more modern, a sweater vest and white long-sleeved shirt and skirt. Her wings vanished and her pink hair turned into a very light blonde that could be mistaken for pink under a certain light.

He was about to question why she picked that as her disguise before Clawdeen gasped. "Oh, those bony wings look pretty cool on you! Where'd you come up with that?"

"Bone wings?" Cerise voiced the question that entered Doubles D mind. "Her wings still look pretty normal to me."

"Sorry," Cupid seemed embarrassed, twirling her hair nervously. "I know you were probably told that I was a shapeshifter, but I actually use illusion magic. They always get it wrong because my Glamour spells make me look pretty convincing."

Ah. Eddward couldn't help but be glad he didn't say anything as that would've immediately given him away. He felt an elbow tap his ribs, interrupting him from his musings as he looked over at Maddie.

"So," She drew the word out slowly, trying to be sly. "What are you seeing right now, Double D?"

The hatted boy smiled carefully, but mischievously. "Wouldn't you like to know."

When Maddie stuck her tongue out at him, he made sure to give her one in response.

* * *

Eddy was not a person known for self-restraint, so the fact he didn't kick down the door with magic was an amazing show of patience. However, that would probably change soon if Raven didn't open the goddamn door.

"_I suppose we should have planned for this." _Ghoulia watched Eddy pace back and forth outside her room, cursing under his breath. Apple was standing beside her, watching it all unfold with worried eyes. _"She's been pretty guarded when it comes to talking about her school. This probably came as a nasty surprise to her."_

"Maybe we should save this for another day. A gentler approach would probably work." Apple may have wanted to sort all of this out, but she figured nothing would happen if she kept pushing. "It seems like she's pretty adamant to stay away from me for now."

"If we don't do anything right now, you two aren't going to talk at all!" Eddy waved his arms in the air, fighting the urge to yell. "You guys need to sort this stuff out now before your little spat here destroys the school. I ain't letting you idiots go until you actually get something done."

"I said I'm not coming out, Eddy. I said what I said about my destiny and I'm not changing my mind." Raven said behind the door. She somehow enchanted the damn thing to keep closed, which made Eddy even angrier. "Besides, if Apple has a problem with it, she can find a different Evil Queen."

"Raven, we don't even know if that works!" Apple couldn't help but respond. "We've done this with familial lines for years. Trying to get someone else to do it now is not acceptable."

The two girls continued to bicker, leading to Ghoulia rubbing her hand down her face. _"This is getting nowhere fast."_ She looked at the fuming Eddy, a sarcastic look on his face. _"I would like it if you didn't blow up my door just yet. I rather like my things to be undamaged."_

"I'll do my best, but I promise nothing." Eddy moved around the Apple, knocking on the door once again. "Ray, we really need to talk about all of this. You pretty much inspired a revolution back at Ever After and you kind of have to take responsibility for that."

"I didn't mean for that to happen." The sorceress said it fast and defensive, almost angrily. "They probably would've done that anyway."

"Eventually, yeah." He conceded but didn't back down. "But you happened to speak up before anyone else did, so that means you have a responsibility here. So, open up the door so we can maybe make things a little easier on everyone."

There were a few seconds of silence before a loud sigh could be heard from the other side. The enchantment on the door was lifted and the door cracked open slightly, in invitation to let them inside.

"Thank you." It came out as sarcastic, but Eddy meant it. He turned to Apple, pointing at the door. "Now get in there and keep any unnecessary comments to yourself, Princess."

She nodded, moving towards the door, followed closely by Ghoulia. As soon as the zombie herself made it inside, he moved in himself. He was not looking forward to this conversation.

The room itself couldn't be called "inviting," but it was suitable. It was mostly filled with lab equipment, though there was a bed along with a futon that was brought out. Guess that was where Raven was sleeping the past few days.

"Alright, now that we've got this all-in order, let's set up some ground rules here." Eddy grabbed a lone chair, turning it around and sitting in it with his arms resting on the back. "One, no talking about personal stuff. Two, we focus mainly on the situation with the school. Three, no insults or hair pulling while all of this is going on."

"_This isn't a cage match, Eddy."_

"Irrelevant. Now," The teen motioned at the two vaguely. "Start."

The two looked at each other, but quickly looked away. Neither of them said anything for almost a minute the ticking of the clock within the room grating on everyone's nerves. Eddy himself was about to try something to talk before Apple straightened up and sighed before speaking.

"I'm not happy about any of this. There's a lot of things going wrong at the school right now that really shouldn't be, and as class president for over two years now, I feel like I need to correct it." Apple shifted in her seat, not looking Raven in the eye. "While I'm upset about your… _statement _at Legacy Day, I do want to try and stop the infighting at the school. I do need your help on that, though."

Raven took a second to let her own response slip out, face set in stone. "I'm not happy about what's going on at school either. However, I'm not going to take back what I said despite that. I don't get why so many people are rallying around it, but I guess I do have some responsibility for starting it. I don't exactly know what to do here."

"Alright, this is progress." Apple leaned forward smiling lightly. "I don't exactly have a control of the Royal side, so to speak. But they are made of my friends, so I can do some mitigating on my part. I do think a couple of the people on the Rebels side, but I'm not so sure how many there are."

"They made up names for themselves?" Raven questioned, but quickly shook her head. "Never mind, think about that later. I guess I can talk to Maddie and Cerise about this, see if they can everyone else to calm down. Maybe we can make an official statement? You studied Kingdom Management, so you can help me say something to everyone to calm them down."

"That could work." Apple nodded, glad to have made some progress. However, she did stop. "Though, I guess that doesn't mean they'll stop completely. Something does need to be done to keep people from fighting each other when we aren't around."

"_If you don't mind, I think I have a suggestion."_ Everyone jumped at the sound of the zombie's voice app cutting through the air. They were almost embarrassed by that since this was her room they were crashing in.

"Go for it, Thriller."* Eddy made a note to find a better nickname for her in the future.

"_Assuming there is a middle ground, there should be someone within the school that can try and stop conflicts that happen between Royals and Rebels. Someone relatively unbiased that won't be taking anyone's side into account." _Ghoulia paused before she said her next sentence. _"I personally suggest Eddy."_

"What." Eddy blinked owlishly at the zombie, unfocused. "Why the heck would I want to become a part of this, Thriller? I've been trying to stop it so I high school isn't a dramatic nightmare."

"_Well, considering high school is a dramatic nightmare already, you've failed that mission."_ The zombie said sarcastically. _"Plus, as I've said before, you are a perfect candidate for this since you badly don't want drama to happen. Since you also have no confirmed story, you don't necessarily have a stake in all of this."_

"She's got a point." Apple said slowly, eyes lighting up at the idea. "You wouldn't necessarily be taking anyone's side. Your judgement won't be biased… as far as we know." She waved off the last part.

"I don't know." Raven looked over Eddy, skeptical. "Eddy's cool and all, but unless he wants to do it, we can't really force him. It's all up to him, really."

Eddy sputtered, looking between the three of them with disbelief. He was about to say that his entire existence tended to _bring_ chaos rather than disrupt it, but he felt himself shut up as he thought the details over. He didn't like it, but this could be a good move. Plus, he'd be the guy in charge of making things go smoothly.

"You know what? Fine." Eddy got up from the chair and moved to the door with a huff. "But if anyone has a problem with my methods, don't blame me. You put me in charge."

He opened the door but stopped before looking at Ghoulia. "You, me, and the guys are still on for learning Zombie speech tomorrow, right?"

"_Right."_

"Okay, good." Eddy went through the door, giving her finger guns as he passed. "Thank you and curse you, Ghoulia."

The girls wondered if they made a mistake, but they decided to not think of that now. They had some things to do.

* * *

Like the last time Eddy was here, the lunchroom was filled with tension the like he's never seen before. While no one had decided to opt for the food fight again, something told him that they weren't far behind.

Eddy snapped his fingers, using some magic to give it some extra sound and bass. This caused everyone to jump at first, making a food fight almost happen then and there.

"Alright, listen up!" Eddy pointed to Apple and Raven with little care, looking at everyone with narrowed eyes. "You listen to these two right now, because if you're all fixing to have a gang war, then they're going to set the terms. Whoever's not listening _will_ be hit by a curse of my choosing and I _will _keep it random."

He moved back, letting the girls step forward. Nobody seemed to be ignoring them, but Eddy kept his eyes out.

"I will do my best to make this brief." Apple started, actually sounding regal to Eddy's surprise. "I can't say that I don't understand why most of you are upset, but that doesn't mean I condone any of the things you're all doing. Since some of you are dear friends of mine, I'm actually quite surprised at some of the things you've done these past few days."

"I get why too." Raven shifted, looking less experience, but just as righteously angry about things. "I'm not taking back what I said, but that doesn't mean any you have to riot for or against it. My whole point was that I don't want to be the villain, meaning I don't want any more chaos happening around here, even if I agree with why you're doing it."

"Which is why, from here on out, this will actually be a _discussion."_ Apple's extra emphasis on the last word made everyone shrink. "We can talk about this all we want but devolving into violence over it isn't acceptable. Many of us will be running our own kingdoms one day, so we need to be better on that front."

"And if some of you aren't planning on doing that." Raven fought down a smirk as she finished things up. "We have a moderator that'll keep things from blowing up too much."

A sudden magical blast appeared, causing a metal tray full of pudding to be shot out a cat girl's hands. Eddy teleported onto a table in the middle of the room. A gleam in his eye.

"You heard her right, folks!" Eddy smirked as everyone's attention landed on him. "I'll be the one making sure that none of you kill each other over this insanity. If anyone one of ya' decides to try and pull some stuff against someone who disagrees with you…" He shrugged, leaving the threat in the air for it to sink in. He jumped off the table, sitting and crossing his legs at one of the seats.

"And while Raven here may not want to be the bad guy," Eddy lit up a hand, bright blue fire lighting up and causing everyone to back up around him. His smile was outright devious at this point, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

"I'm _certainly_ not afraid to make up for it."

* * *

"As much as I appreciate that you decided to come to me for help," Cleo started calmly, looking down at Ed with a gleam of annoyance in her gaze. "I don't understand _why_ you would come to _me_ first."

Ed wasn't so sure either, but it was Eddy and Double D's idea to get help from the queen bee of the school. Technically, she said he owed him a favor, but that didn't mean she had to uphold that promise. Plus, she did say that they weren't friends, which honestly hurt his feelings a bit.

Not to mention he's apparently kind of annoying to her.

"Well, it's not like I have a lot of other places to go." Ed twiddled his thumbs, not looking the mummy in the eye. "I figured you'd have the easiest time in helping me. Not a lot of people here have as many resources as you do, especially with other students."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Ed." Cleo pulled out her nail file, not making eye contact either. Her expression showed boredom, plain and simple. "I suppose I owe you a favor, but I have a feeling you want more than one thing out of this, judging from your expression."

Ed figured she'd realized that. Again, Eddy would've been a better fit for this since he knew how to deal with people. Double D was smarter in general too, so why'd they pick him for this?

"You aren't wrong," He did his best to be honest, even though he figured it wouldn't turn out too well. "I mean, I'm willing to work around to try and get both things, but I need to make sure you'll actually help me first. Eddy said not to trust you unless you can provide proof."

"Quiet." She raised a hand to silence him. He did, keeping an eye on her as she sighed and sat up straight to look him in the eye. "I am willing to keep my word, but that does mean you will have to be specific on what you want. Plus, if you do want to fulfill the second request, you will have to do some difficult tasks in order to win that favor. Especially if it comes at a particularly high price."

Ed was afraid she'd say that, causing him to gulp. He had a feeling the ideas he had would both result in him getting indebted to her, something he couldn't really afford to do. He and his friends were on a schedule right now, so getting caught under Cleo's web would do a lot of damage to that.

However, not trying at all would be wasteful, as Double D said. He'd have to go for it.

"I have to requests." He started again, more officially this time. "One involves you being nice to someone or to ignore them. Another involves her, but also deals with something a little bigger."

"Then consider me curious," Cleo went back to filing her nails. "Though I believe I have an idea as to what you may be asking about."

"You do?" The suspense was killing Ed, causing him to fidget in his seat.

"Frankie, that girl you helped get away, wants to see if she can bring the Jaundice Brothers to Monster High," She looked up at him briefly to see him nod. "However, seeing as I don't like her, you think I might hold back on her plan unless you force me to forgive her. I also have the opportunity to bring that plan to fruition simply by getting her some more help from some people in the school."

"Yeah," Ed sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I guess that you're only going to do one but not the other, right?"

"Correct." Cleo didn't look up from her nails at all.

Of course. Ed wasn't the smartest guy, but he did figure that would happen. Eddy did ultimatums all the time, why did he expect her to be any different? He really should've come here with Ghoulia. Or maybe Deuce. He should've gotten to know that guy more by now, but everyone avoided him for some reason.

"Is there any way I can convince you to do both somehow?" Might as well try to talk her down.

"Not a chance."

Darn it. Back to the drawing board.

Ed frowned deeply at this, thinking back to the advice Eddy and Double D told him to do in case this went wrong. Something Eddy told him immediately stuck out within his mind.

_Rich girls like her usually don't respond to threats, complaints, or anything else that isn't begging. If you don't want to be wrapped around her pretty little finger, you gotta go with something that'll set her off. Something that'll make her do it out of spite._

…Didn't she have an older sister that she didn't like?

"Seems kinda weird that you don't want to help out the whole vampires vs werewolves problem." Ed straightened up, words leaving him before he could stop it. "People keep on saying your sister would've gotten this under control."

Cleo abruptly stopped filing, blinking before looking at the boy with a blank face. "Excuse me?"

"I don't know, I just heard some stuff." The tall Ed boy couldn't help but feel like he jumped on a land mine but decided to keep going with it. "People talk about your sister all the time. Like how she was on the fearleading team before you were."

"Yes, Nefera just happened to be the captain." Her tone didn't change at all, which was worrying all together. "What else have people been saying?"

"That none of this would be happening if she was still in charge?" Ed shrugged, pretending to be confused. "I don't know who said it, but people have been agreeing. Something about how if you had a little more power over them, they wouldn't have tried to throw anything at you. I mean, they aren't from Monster High, but you could try to get them to respect you."

This got the nail file to snap in her hands, loud enough to shut him up. Cleo's eye twitched as her eyes narrowed. She looked almost ready to pop judging from how red her face was.

"Is that so?" She stood up slowly, chair screeching across the floor. Ed fought the urge to flinch. "I guess I'll have to rectify that. I'm guessing that your favor is that I forgive Frankie for her transgressions?"

"Pretty much." Ed nodded furiously, not liking the mad look in her eye _at all._

"Then consider it done. Everything is a blank slate for now." She moved to the door of the classroom with clear purpose in mind. "I suppose I'll have to show a few _certain someone's_ why you shouldn't doubt a De Nile's power."

As Ed sat there in silence for a few, harrowing moments, he couldn't help but feel like he should stop taking Eddy's advice.

* * *

Ed wasn't a social media expert, but he couldn't help but feel like it was all working to expectations. Despite the amount of dread he felt sicking Cleo onto the populace, it showed some results.

A lot more people were starting to join in on Frankie's campaign to get the Jaundice Brothers to Monster High. Cleo either had her servants sign on the online petition or was able to call in a few favors from people around the school, but she clearly used enough power to get the original goal to be met within a few hours.

He _did _received warning from Deuce saying that Cleo, after she got down from her spite-induced charity that she was a little peeved at Ed's manipulation. It was fine, though, he had plenty of ways to avoid her since he figured out about the Catacombs below the school. Plus, Eddy was trying out teleportation now and might be able to get him out of stuff.

Ed scrolled through the text from Double D and Eddy too, confirming their own victories. The plan was coming together very nicely, though it was only the start. As long as they kept reacting to anything weird going on at the schools, it would probably take them no time to get things back to normal.

"It looks like Ms. Stein's petition is reaching a good amount of people."

Ed looked up to see Bloodgood walking towards him, holding her head at her side. He never knew why she did that, but Double D mentioned that it might just be a scare tactic to keep people in line. Or she was just eccentric when not making weird plans like bringing humans to a Monster and Legend school.

"Yeah, we're doing a pretty good job. Didn't think this would blow up so fast." Ed flipped through some apps, checking on certain things. "Eddy and Double D are working hard too on their own things. Eddy might be a moderator and Double D's got some media under his control."

"Should I be prepared if you three take over the world?" She raised an eyebrow, which looked infinitely weirder with her head separated from her neck.

"Probably. This is the most productive we've been in years." Ed clicked off the apps and put his iCoffin away. "Then again, Eddy always said world domination was for losers who don't care about assassins trying to kill them all the time, so we might wait until Thursday to do that."

"Well I very much appreciate that. I do have some plans tomorrow that I would like to finish up before then." Bloodgood finally decided to put her head back on, fitting it without any trouble. Ed distantly noted that the threads that she always tore to take it off repaired themselves almost immediately after she put her head back on. "Though, I do have to honestly thank you boys for the help so far. I honestly thought this would all take longer."

"I would wait before celebrating. Everything's off to a good start, but that usually means something's going to go wrong later." Ed rubbed the back of his neck again, chuckling. "At least Eddy thinks that. He's usually right about it, though."

"We'll deal with that when it happens, I suppose." Bloodgood brought out a notepad, picking something off of it. She handed it to Ed with little effort. "Give this to Mr. Where. He'll be able to smooth things over if the concert comes on. The sooner the better but take your time if you need it."

"You got it." Ed didn't bother looking over the note, figuring it would be rude. "Shouldn't take long. I think he wants some help in building some sets for his Drama class, so I'll think he'll be happy to see me."

"Good to hear." Bloodgood didn't know why she did, but she felt her hand rise up to try and ruffle the boy's hair. However, when she did, he dodged it, almost jerking out of the way completely

"Have a good day, Bloodgood!" He ran off, not noticing her pause at his movement.

She stood there for a few seconds, eventually letting her arm drop as she looked at his retreating form. A part of her felt a pit of dread form, cataloging that interaction for later.

"I really need to know why they left their home." She thought out loud, turning back to head to her office.

She had some research to do.

* * *

**Eddy becomes an official moderator, Ed has tricks he learned from his friends, and Double D knows how to bring others onto his side. I really made these guys into manipulative people, haven't I? I suppose I write them that way because these three are scam artists that know how to get money from kids they've known their whole lives, something that does transfer well to this. Hopefully they know how to trick Bloodgood though, if they want their backstories to stay in the dark.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I will see you again soon enough.**


	15. Micromanagement

**Another chapter! This one ends a little more abruptly then the others, mostly because I couldn't find a way to. However, I'm still satisfied with the progress made here. It seems a little meandering at first, but it does bring up important story elements as well.**

**Also, a word of warning to those familiar with the first gen Monster High story, I'm sort of mashing Volumes 1 and 2 together to match up the stories of both it and Ever After better. Plus, while some stuff happens in Volume 1, there really isn't a serialized story that I can work with until Volume 2. Ever After's story should remain mostly untouched.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and have a nice day!**

* * *

Ed and Double D found it hard to say what exactly a normal day at Monster High equated to. The same could be said for Double D and Eddy's days at Ever After High, but that was a different brand of chaos.

Ever After High was filled with the chaos of a changing dynamic and people working with or against each other. Things were suitably tense and almost boiling up into a fight. Monster High had a strange problem with things going wrong simultaneously, the disturbing conflicts a background to it all. Everything was fine one minute, then several problems pushed into each other till it turned into an utter mess.

Double D made note of that, along with the fact that Ed had far too much patience when dealing with stuff like this.

Cleo had started another mini fiasco apparently, trying to get Clawdeen to embarrass herself during a talent show. Of course, it took a lot to actually embarrass the girl, so when things backfired, she got very ticked off.

Frankie, wanting to join the fearleading squad, was a target of that and the mummy was trying to bar her from doing so.

Clawdeen and Ghoulia were doing their best to get Cleo to change her mind about that.

It was not an easy endeavor.

"For crying out loud, just because you lost the stupid talent show doesn't mean you can just keep her out of fearleading." Clawdeen was doing her best not to growl, which Double D appreciated and felt respect for it. "She's amazing at it. She'd be awesome for the team. It's you that's the problem."

"_Plus, you did promise Ed that you would stop being angry over her perceived transgressions. It is your job to honor that." _Ghoulia looked only slightly irritated, obviously more used to this. _"It isn't exactly very royal of you to do otherwise."_

"It wouldn't be royal of me to bring her out onto the field either." Cleo didn't seem to care for the conversation, actively glaring at her iCoffin. "Despite the fact she has to stitch on her own limbs every morning, they always seem to fall off every single day. What if went into a routine with something like that happening? Someone could actually get injured."

"Okay, true." Ed was doing his best to remain neutral, but he did view Frankie as a friend. "That doesn't mean she can't do anything about it. Maybe she can try and tie herself up a little more each day?"

Cleo didn't look convinced, as far as Double D could tell. He remained mostly silent throughout all of this, checking on his other responsibilities through his iCoffin and MirrorPhone. Though the conflict between vampires and werewolves was still ongoing, it was being soothed for now by the punishments Bloodgood gave to certain members and Ed's own attempts.

He couldn't help but feel proud of Ed. Even though he was still immature at times, he seemed to have a decent amount of control of the situation. And keeping up with his schoolwork. Maybe they should try big scams like this more often to keep him and Eddy motivated?

_One step at a time, Eddward._

"Yes, but you'd think she would've learned to do that by now." Cleo rolled her eyes. She looked over her latest text and fumed silently. "If she wants to actually join, she should grow up a little before doing so. Might serve her best in the long run."

"She's barely a month old!" Clawdeen looked ready to rip the mummy a new one, eyes glowing a bright yellow in her anger. "All of her teen advice is coming from magazines! She won't learn anything until we let her!"

"_It is concerning how she reads those magazines like gospel. Working her out of the habit is next to impossible."_ Ghoulia was freely talking in zombie now, with Ed and Double D catching most of it by now due to practice. _"She's practicing some common sense, but it hasn't been easy for her."_

"I happen to agree with them, if that matters." Double D started, catching everyone's attention. "If anything, you're actively harming her development by doing so. Having an activity with a consistent peer group would be good for her."

"You haven't even _met _her!" Cleo pointed at him accusingly. "Why do you even care? You spend more time at the _other_ school then here, anyway."

"Which I am trying to correct." The smart Ed boy knew the best way to deal with people like her. He'd dealt with somebody like her for nearly his entire life. "I do believe that you're letting you're grudge stand in the way of what could be a good opportunity here."

Cleo raised an eyebrow, looking at him with an unbelieving expression. "And what would that be?"

"Frankie's popular." Ed piped up, moving to stand next to Double D. "And I mean really popular. A lot of guys and girls either want to date her or be her friend. She's really nice too, which is cool."

"She does have a following already. It's almost creepy, honestly." The werewolf of the group shrugged, faintly wondering about the new girl. "It's not like it's a bad thing, but I don't know how she's actually doing it."

"_It is a strange phenomenon, but they do have a point, Cleo. She could boost the fearleading team's popularity, so losing her as an asset would be a grave error."_ The zombie moaned. _"I would suggest seriously considering her for the team."_

Double D watched the queen bee's face carefully. She didn't seem happy about it, but it made some sense for her. It looked like she would need one final push to get her to agree, however.

"What is it that you've been fuming about?" Double D questioned, looking down at her iCoffin. "You've been looking at that on and off the entire time we've been talking. Maybe we can help out."

"Deuce got sent to the Headmistresses office today. A substitute tried taking off his sunglasses because of a dress code." Ed supplied, much to Cleo's continued irritation. "They're waiting to get him out of stone before seeing if he should get punished."

"Does the substitute also ask people in wheelchairs to stand up too?" The smart Ed boy couldn't help but snark, earning a startled laugh from Clawdeen. He turned back to Cleo. "I'm assuming if he gets punished, it'll mess with some plans you have with him."

"We have a date planned, along with several other things that we want to do throughout the week." It pained her to admit it. It was plain on her face. "Turning someone to stone could land him in a good amount of time if he isn't careful."

There was silence for a moment, the implications of what they were talking about clear. The two boys and the ghoul stared each other down for a second, trying to read each other. Cleo was the first to break, though, sighing deeply.

"I really feel like I'm losing to you two and that nutjob at Ever After too much." She leaned back in her chair, looking at the boys, resigned. "Get him out of there and she can get into the fearleading squad. Preferably with as light a sentence as possible."

"Consider it done." Double D got up, feeling pleased at the turn of events. "Expect him to be off the hook within the hour."

"We'll be back to check on everything!" Ed followed his friend, waving behind him eagerly.

The room was silent for a second before Cleo sighed, rubbing her face with her hands. "Those boys are a nightmare. I swear."

"I'm certainly not complaining if they're ticking you off." Clawdeen smiled smugly.

She dodged a random piece of lipstick that was thrown in her direction.

* * *

"I still don't get why we have to get permission from Grimm. I'm pretty sure that stick in the mud's going to say no." Eddy grumbled, hands twitching and ready to light up if need be. He was aware of passing glances everybody gave to him but didn't care. He had a job to do.

"It's not like we have much of a choice. We can probably go to Baba Yaga, but she'll have to run it through him first." Dexter hesitantly replied. Cupid walked next to him, giving him the occasional glance.

Eddy wasn't sure what to make of either of them. He admittedly figured that Dexter was a heck of a lot better than his brother but needed a confidence boost _bad_. Cupid seemed nice and was behind whatever plan they were cooking up, but the fact she had magic that could trick them into outing themselves scared him.

If she figured anything out, maybe he could use her attraction to Dexter to throw her off their trail. It was obvious she thought he was attractive now and he had a feeling he could use that later.

"Is the headmaster really going to stop us? I don't see why he would." A fluttering of wings could be heard from Cupid's direction, though Eddy didn't see them. "I'd think that since he let me attend his school, he'd allow some cooperation between it and Monster High."

"The headmaster is… complicated." Dexter stated carefully, keeping an eye out as if Grimm could hear him.

"He's a jerk that seems to love going back on promises." Eddy stated bluntly, moving past one of the Billy Goats Gruff kids. It was weird seeing anthropomorphic animals, but at this point, it was par for the course. "We can probably swing it by him quick enough, so he doesn't think about it. If we can get him distracted long enough."

The two nodded hesitantly, which was enough for him. They were reaching Baba Yaga's office and he figured they could get the paperwork there and see if they could speed up the process. Maybe she could clear things up for them after all.

That thought process took a swift downturn when he opened the door to find six people in there.

Arguing.

Why couldn't things just go smoothly for once?

Eddy snapped his fingers, increasing the sound with magic. The sound went through the room quick, causing the ruckus to die down quickly. He recognized most of the faces, he realized. Apple, Raven, Maddie, Briar, Grimm, and Baba Yaga stood around awkwardly, obviously mid-argument. The girl with the heart over her eye was new, though, looking mildly irritated at his interruption.

"I'd ask if I'm interrupting something if I actually cared. But since I'm curious, will somebody explain what's going on?" Eddy moved himself towards Baba Yaga's desk, putting a form on it. "I'd _love_ to hear this one."

"Headmaster Grimm's trying to get Raven to start acting like the Evil Queen. Not sure why he brought me here." Briar said, apathetic. She adjusted a sleep onto her face, laying in her chair. She received a small glare from Apple.

"Considering how it possibly concerns the entirety of Ever After, I would think you would have a stake in all of this." Grimm huffed, tapping his fingers on the desk.

"Shouldn't a teacher not take sides here?" Dexter stated, uncomfortable with the tension in the room.

"Thank you!" Raven startled everyone, throwing her hands up in the air in relief. "That's the sanest thing I've heard all day! Maybe if some more people around thought like that, we wouldn't need Eddy to be a mediator here."

"How is that going, by the way?" Apple asked, turning towards the boy with a curious look. "I've heard some things, but no fights have broken out so far. I'm assuming you've been on top of that."

"Yes, I've heard about some of your more… _creative _methods." Baba Yaga floated in place, looking over the boy critically. "Especially that one involving the 'cheese bomb' that you used yesterday."

"Some guy was planning on pranking some Royals with some weird stuff he found in the forest. So, I filled his locker full of melted cheese." Eddy smirked, moving the paper towards her. "I'd say that was good way to stop him."

"The cheese came to life and ate his homework!" Grimm hit the desk with an exasperated expression. "I don't even know you did that!"

"I had Ed cook it." Eddy shrugged. He still didn't know how Ed managed to mess that up, especially since he was supposed to only _melt_ the cheese, but it honestly made things funnier. "Maybe you should learn from that. Kinda looks bad when a teacher is supposedly taking one students' side."

Grimm sputtered at that, pointing an accusing finger at the boy before putting his head into his hands. Baba Yaga quickly signed the form with a smile, handing it over to Eddy without question while the headmaster wasn't looking.

Maddie handed a piece of paper over to the stunned Cupid, smiling. "If you want to know more about all of this, feel free to call me. We can be pink buddies!"

"Uh," Cupid looked around at all the crazy stuff happening around her, confusion clear on her face. "I'd honestly like that."

Eddy wordlessly grabbed the form. Moving to head out of the room. He stopped for a second before moving towards the girl with a heart over her eye, staring her down for a few seconds.

"Queen of hearts?" He asked, though he was pretty sure what she was already. He didn't necessarily care, but he figured he should get his facts straight.

The girl wordlessly pulled out a card, holding it in front of her with a glare. Holding up a finger with her other hand, she quickly sliced at with her nail. The card was cut in half seconds later.

Eddy rolled his eyes and moved up, making his exit out of the room. "Could've just said yes." He mumbled. He bumped his shoulder into Raven's pointing at the headmaster. "Don't be afraid to ask for some backup. He wouldn't be the first teacher I've pranked into quitting."

"I'll think on it." She said, fist bumping him quickly. She was staring down Grimm with a death glare clear on her face. "I'll see you in class later."

He didn't say anything, following Dexter and Cupid outside. He was already formulating a small prank to pull on Grimm, chuckling to himself as a few popped into his head. Maybe a tiny version of the El Mondo stink bomb would work…

"Should we be concerned about what he's laughing about?" Cupid whispered to Dexter, fearfully scooching away from the demented Eddy. He was beginning to chuckle in a way that sent some fear down her spine.

"Unless you're Headmaster Grimm, you probably won't need to worry about it." Dexter sent a look Eddy's way before gulping. "But I'd be on the lookout just in case."

That honestly did not comfort her in the slightest.

* * *

"…So really, Deuce did warn the guy. He did exactly what he said, and he ended up becoming a statue. Doesn't seem like the teacher was doing his job." Ed shrugged, sitting in the seat casually. He side-eyed the recently de-petrified teacher and shrugged. "I don't get what he's all mad about."

"He didn't _say_ what they were for!" The admittedly ugly teacher spouted, pointing at the boy, seething. "If he'd given a little forewarning, I would have stopped! Don't try to defend him just because he's your buddy or something."

"I think I've heard enough, Mr. Wakeman." Bloodgood honestly looked more irritated then anything, rubbing her temples. "While Deuce _could_ have given you some warning about his condition, it is one that is common among gorgons. I would think this as a lapse of judgement, but I've heard about similar incidents from other Monster schools. I hired you at the behest of a friend, but that was clearly a mistake."

This got the substitute to stop suddenly, shaking a little. "But- But you can't fire me! I haven't finished my work for today!"

"Then consider it a day off." She said finally, gathering her papers and stacking them up. "Mr. Gorgon, you're free to go. I'll give you a pass for any classes you may have missed due to this."

"Thank you, headmistress." He nodded, moving quickly out of the room, giving Ed a thankful look and a nod. He was followed by the despondent substitute, slowly due to the crushing defeat he just received.

Double D slipped in, closing the door behind him with smile. He sent a message to Cleo to confirm their success. "I'm glad we were able to sort that out. I almost wonder if I would have to get in here to set things straight."

"I would've found a way to have Mr. Gorgon avoid punishment, but the testimony to his innocence did help in the matter." The headmistress put away the paperwork related to the incident, along with some things to make firing Mr. Wakeman official. "I'm actually glad that you two are here today. I would've asked for Eddy as well, but he seems to be busy at the moment."

"As we all seem to be." Double D sat in the familiar office chairs, head tilting to the side. "Is something the matter?"

"Nothing bad, per say. It seems like your plans are going smoothly now. I just figured that I was putting off something that would be pertinent to talk about." Bloodgood settled into her own chair, looking over the two boys critically. "You two and your friend disappearing from Peach Creek."

The boy's mood shifted from open and positive to defensive in under a second. It was an involuntary reaction and she exactly what she was looking for. A pit in her stomach formed since that reaction was not one she was hoping to see.

"There's nothing to it, honestly." Ed shifted in his chair in a nervous fit, looking outside her window. "We just left in our van and decided to drive around the country. Kids like us do stuff like that all the time."

"Admittedly, we didn't exactly take much." Double D added. He was otherwise calm, but he didn't look at her directly. "It was probably unwise, but you know we can take care of ourselves during some pretty tight situations."

"Yes, but considering I had to find you three peddling trinkets for money, you can see why I'd be concerned." She flipped open another file she had, this one on her wards. "And most people would've informed their own parents before heading on out, preferably to avoid being reported missing."

Looking up, Bloodgood figured they weren't going to talk first about it. She started to read the details out loud. "Ed, your parents reported you missing after your sister had notably complained about your departure. An investigation by the police uncovered that your room was a mess prior to your leaving, plus prior incidents where police were called to your household. They compared it to living in a waste dump in their initial reports."

Ed didn't even bother saying anything, still looking out the window with a blank look. The fact he was outright ignoring her made Bloodgood feel all the more concerned about it. She looked towards Double D, whose look was surprisingly defiant.

"In your case, Eddward, your parents took a little bit longer to report you missing. Apparently, it took them longer because some chores of yours were left to the wayside." She looked over his parent's testimonies carefully. "You took a lot of things out of your own room but left surprisingly quickly. Something tells me you three were planning on going on your trip a long time before you said you were."

"I'm surprised they said anything at all." Double D scoffed, which stopped her. He looked despondent, though he did seem to have some surprise. It was quickly replaced with a neutral expression when he saw hers. "You know how Eddy is. It pays to be prepared when his whims are liable to change."

"Yes, I've uncovered quite a deal about him as well." Bloodgood leaned forward, staring the impassive boy down. "His family was the first to respond to Eddy's disappearance, a day after they last saw him. While nothing can be said about his parents or Eddy himself, I did uncover quite a bit about someone else. His brother. There's a lot of concerning things when it comes to him."

She could see a flash of _something _in Ed's expression. It was gone as soon it was there, but she couldn't help but feel like she just saw something very ugly and angry in there despite everything. It was particularly uncharacteristic of him if she was honest.

The silence stretched on for a couple of moments. Neither of the boys said anything to her, despite the fact she was looking for some form of reaction. She eventually sighed and moved back into her seat.

"I'm not here to interrogate you. I'm only asking this as not only your administrator, but as a concerned adult." Bloodgood didn't feel happy that she had to plead to them, but she needed them to listen. "You were states away from home, obviously living out of your vehicle, and none of you seemed to have any long-term plans. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in my position."

"We don't want to talk about it." It was the first time Ed spoke since this started and it would've been relieving if it didn't look like he was still trying to stay out of the conversation. "We're going to work through it."

"Ed is correct in that matter. It isn't something we can really afford to focus on too." Double D shrugged, though the fact one hand was picking at a sleeve showed his anxiety. "We appreciate your concern, but we need to keep things running. The progress we've made for both schools is something we need to continue at this time."

Bloodgood stared into Double D's eyes a bit longer before relenting. She wasn't going to win this fight today, no matter how much she tried to help things out.

"Fine. The offer to talk is still on the table when you need it, though." Ed seemingly snapped back into the conversation at her words. It was nothing ever happened. "I'm assuming Eddy is working towards his part on getting Cupid's show off the ground?"

"Yeah, he's getting the paperwork signed. Don't know how he's going to get it past Grimm though." Ed heard a ding from his iCoffin, causing him to look at it with a smile. "Looks like he got it finished! Great timing, right?"

"Indeed." Double D stood up suddenly, moving towards the door. "We'll be working with the fearleaders for now. It might help to get some pep in the school after the science lab incident."

"Sounds like a plan." Bloodgood felt exhaustion enter her system as the two exited with faint goodbyes, like they were doing their darndest to avoid talking to her further. Her eyes strayed to a photo on her desk that she still didn't understand why she kept up.

"I really picked some problem children to help out, didn't I?" She muttered, moving the picture down with a sigh. Looking down on the files of the boys, she couldn't help but feel something crawl up her spine to where it would've connected to her neck.

"Guess we'll all have to make do."

* * *

Eddy may or may not have burst out laughing after Raven showed him the picture of what looked like the grumpiest chicken he'd ever seen. It may have helped that the chicken was apparently Headmaster Grimm after he ticked off Raven off to set off her magic.

"Man, I should've stayed longer! His face was probably priceless." He almost started wheezing at the thought of that grump actually getting what was coming to him. "You at least kept him like that, right?"

"No, Baba Yaga made me change him back." Raven didn't look put out by it, though she rolled her eyes at Eddy's glee. "You really shouldn't laugh, though. Even if it is pretty funny."

"Emphasis on it being funny." Cerise picked at some of her food, keeping an eye on a few tables away. "Still kinda ticked off that Apple would help him pull that off, though. I know it's her 'happy ending' on the line, but still…"

"I'm not surprised." Eddy made sure to save the photo onto his phone before getting back into the conversation. "I don't know how much experience you have dealing with rich people, but one thing you can count on is that they have no concept of the word no."

"Why do I have a feeling that there's a story behind that?" Raven put down her drink. "Or are you just throwing out wisdom for the sake of sounding smart?"

"You wound me, Ray. You wound me." He dramatically put his hand over his heart. "At least Red here understands me."

"I don't think anyone understands you." Cerise rolled her eyes at the offended gasp coming from Eddy's direction. "Any reason why you're sitting here today rather than Apple's table."

"Since I'm a mediator now, I should probably rotate where I sit so people don't think I'm picking favorites." The boy shrugged, biting into his sandwich. "Plus, Princess is being annoying today. I think the meeting set her off. Remember, I did say rich people have a hard time understanding what no means."

"Then lay it on us, oh great wise master." Raven stated sarcastically, waving her fingers to get him going. "How did you learn _that_ particular piece of wisdom?"

"Knowing you, it probably involves exploding someone's house or something." The hooded girl laughed, still chopping at her food with vigor. "I'd like to hear it too, if you don't mind."

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Red, but nobody's house got blown up." Eddy may have muttered something along the lines of 'but I wish I did,' but neither of the girls were able to confirm. "It was while me and the guys were out on the road. I don't really know what town we were in at the time, but it was one of those more conservative places. One of those were old money usually came out to play and we figured we might as well run a scam while we were there."

"And Double D didn't try to stop you?" Cerise couldn't believe that, especially since he seemed like the upstanding type.

"It was either that or go hungry for a couple of days." He waved off the concerned looks from the two. "Don't worry about it, we didn't do anything too bad. Just started selling a knockoff moisturizer claiming that it would clear up their skin. Nothing too crazy, but enough to be believable. Debatably, it even worked since Sockhead made it to have some 'rejuvenating' properties."

"How long did it take for them to realize that it wouldn't work?" Raven tapped on the table, looking at Cerise with a questioning look. Why would they be going hungry if they didn't do anything?

"They didn't figure out. This is where the moral of the story comes in." Eddy's face drifted from nostalgic to annoyed. "This one lady- let's call her Karen- was interested in our product and wanted to try it out. Karen said that she wanted a sample bottle, something we didn't actually have. We had to tell her no and everything because we only had a limited supply and that would only hurt us in the future."

"Let me guess," Cerise had worked retail before and knew exactly what was coming up next. "She complained."

"She complained _loudly._ It was freaking ridiculous." He moved his arms around, looking particularly ticked off about all of this. "I mean, we were selling it out of a _van,_ what kind of experience was she expecting. No matter how many times we told her no, Karen just started complaining louder. We eventually decided to move shop just to get away from her and hope she wouldn't call the police. Had to sell the rest of our stock for half price after that in the next town over."

Raven winced at that. She'd seen a few people like that herself whenever she went out to get some stuff for her father. It wasn't pleasant. "I wouldn't exactly call Apple a 'Karen,' but I guess you have a point. She isn't bothering me that much to call her that."

"Getting the headmaster to try and change your mind definitely sounds close to getting someone's manager." Cerise rolled her eyes. She did soften up and sigh a little, taking a quick look towards Apple's table. "Maybe we can convince her to stop at some point. I'd imagine that the rules of the destiny aren't exactly as airtight as people think they are."

"I may not have been there for your speech on different interpretations of stories, but it isn't like you don't have a good point." The sorceress played with her food, face pensive. "As long goes through, everything should be fine. Maybe if we find a replacement for me, it could fix things for a little bit."

"I guess that'll depend on how Princess takes it." Eddy rolled the thought over in his head. "I have feeling you're going to be waiting a while before that happens. I don't think anyone really wants the baggage your title brings to the table."

As Raven wilted, he decided to backtrack. "It's not like everyone wouldn't want to try it out. But we should probably work on Apple getting over the initial stuff and hope for the best. I don't know why, but I have a feeling she'll go pretty far if she decided to seize her destiny in more ways than one."

And he truly believed that too. He didn't know Apple for too long now, but he did figure that maybe he was only half wrong when it came to his first impression. She wasn't necessarily planning against everyone, but she was willing to go far for a goal if there was something in her way. Maybe she didn't think what she was doing was going to be wrong, but that didn't mean she wouldn't be willing to put a lot of effort of making that obstacle non-existent.

And Raven was a large obstacle in the way of her happy ending.

He looked over the at the blonde, who was happily chatting away with her friends. Eddy almost felt sorry for her. This was her Happily Ever After being put into danger and he didn't doubt that she was going to put everything into keeping it.

She was about to figure out some obstacles can't be moved aside.

And he was going to teach her that lesson.

* * *

Double D felt the incoming headache, something he knew was going to come about at some point. It had been a stressful day sorting things out and that talk with Bloodgood didn't make things any better. Entering the gym, where the ever present sweat and overwhelming perfume from the fearleaders only made it worse.

She had a point, but he really didn't need to deal with this now. He had gotten too used to dealing with the problems here to remember that she knew a good deal about why they weren't in Peach Creek anymore, so maybe it was his fault for not thinking about it. Especially in letting her get the drop on them like this.

The hatted boy looked over to Ed, trying to figure out what exactly he was thinking. He'd already moved over towards Ghoulia and started chatting with her about some random topic. He was actually listening to her talk in zombie speak as well, having been the first to fully understand it for reasons none of them could figure out. Just another mystery about him.

It didn't look like Ed was thinking about it. Or even bothered to acknowledge it.

That was worrying.

Double D stopped thinking about it when he noticed Clawd waved and started jogging up to him. He put on a fake smile that he hoped was convincing, nodding in his direction. "Hello. You're Clawd, correct? I don't believe we've had a proper introduction."

"Uh, yeah. I guess my sister told you about me?" The werewolf laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "She's told me a lot about you, honestly. Just wanted to thank you for stopping that fight a couple days ago. And getting Deuce out of detention too."

"Not a problem. Setting a few people straight and getting a bad teacher out of the school is a pleasure." Double D did feel some satisfaction over it. Clawdeen had said a lot about her brother and was thankful he wasn't the overprotective type. "Don't be afraid to call if something like that happens again."

"I won't be." Clawd didn't exactly _seem_ too nervous, but he was clearly trying to get something out into the open. "You guys honestly have made a pretty big reputation for yourselves, honestly. I mean, you and that Ed guy seem friendly, but I've heard some stories."

"I wouldn't believe all of them. I'm not even sure how half of them got started, honestly." That was something to look out for. Double D didn't exactly want to have a 'reputation,' but maybe he could cultivate from it somehow. "I'm sure what your sister has said about me and my friends is the most accurate."

"I hope so." Clawd seemed to relax a bit at that, actually moving closer to him without hesitation. "It seems like you've had a good time adjusting though. Even with all of the trouble."

"It's taken some effort, but I think we're doing just fine." Double D couldn't help but notice that something was going on with the fearleading practice not that far away. It looked like Cleo was arguing with one of her subordinates. "Any idea what's going on over there?"

The werewolf looked over and frowned. "I don't know. Cleo is usually pretty strict during practice, so maybe it's something involving some routine." He narrowed his eyes, trying to pick out something. "Looks like she's arguing with Toralei again. I don't know what she's doing, but-"

He stopped after the werecat (Toralei, Double D assumed) had two other fearleaders started to do some form of routine. It was decent, as far as the two boys could tell, but something about it seemed off.

They got their answer after the two other werecats involved with the routine pulled out a sign saying that they quit the team.

"…Looks like you got your work cut out for you, huh?"

"It appears so." The smart Ed boy said, feeling a bitter taste on his tongue. Of course, something like this happens. Of course.

Double D's headache was going to become a migraine before the day ended.

* * *

**A note for anyone; I do like Apple, but she is going to go through some serious character development. She does a lot of stuff in canon, so she's going to go through it either way and Eddy isn't going to stand for anything she pulls.**

**Also, if the chapter mentioning some things going on with the Ed's backstory isn't clear, it isn't a great one. I will be put up trigger warnings in later parts of the fic when it starts to come up more explicitly.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you again soon!**


	16. Basics in Leadership

**And the new chapter is up! Sorry if this took a little bit longer then usual, but my sleep schedule has gotten a little wonky these past couple of weeks. Everything will be fine as long as I get back into the swing of things.**

**Also, you know how weird it is to figure out that out of a certain subset of a tag on AO3 and that you're one of the few people to write for a crossover? It certainly is for me sometimes, but it almost makes me feel like a pioneer. Just a thought I wanted to share.**

**The plots beginning to pick up in this one, though they still have a long way to go. Check out this week's chapter and find out!**

* * *

"Have you tried poking him with a stick yet?" Eddy watched with a raised eyebrow as everyone of their friend group (if you could call some of them friends) were standing over Double D's prone on the grass. Other than the occasional groan, he hadn't said a word when meeting up today and it didn't look like he was going to.

"_I'm pretty sure that won't help in any whatsoever."_ Ghoulia made sure to grab Ed's arm, which had been carrying a stick, and lowered it. _"He's been like this for ten minutes now, though, so we should probably attempt to get him back on his feet."_

"How the hell did this happen, anyway? Been a few months since he's done something like this." Eddy lightly kicked his friend, not entire enthused about the situation. "It'd be funny if it wasn't sad."

"Some members of _my_ fearleading team apparently decided my leadership style wasn't fitting for lifestyle." Cleo said, not even attempting to hide her bitterness, sitting on one of the ruined castles broken down walls. Deuce, who was particularly new to their 'meetings,' sat behind her as her chair. "I don't understand what their problem is. They want to win the cheer meet, then our group needs to be perfect for it."

"Gee, I'm surprised they weren't grateful for the fact you made them do the same routine ten times in a row." Clawdeen's sarcasm was lost on no one, though everyone chose not to mention it. "It'd almost be funny if they hadn't quit at the worst possible time."

"Doesn't really sound like it's funny at all. Plus, this sounds he's been stressing longer than that." Cerise felt some pity for the hatted kid, though she didn't exactly have any experience with this type of thing. "He probably needs to take some time to unwind for a bit. One school wide civil war is one thing, another would be really hard on him."

"Cerise has a point. He seems like the type of overwork himself." Apple pulled out her MirrorPhone and started typing some stuff into it. "I could offer a possible solution for your leadership problem, though I can't really do much when it comes to recruitment. That's out of my jurisdiction, I believe."

While they were talking, Maddie poked at Double D with a stick herself, rousing the boy from his anxiety induced faint. She raised in her hands up in victory. "He's risen from his slumber, everybody! Quick, act like we weren't talking about him."

"I wasn't sleeping, Maddie, I was completely awake. I just wasn't in the mood to talk about this." Double D shifted from his position to standing sluggishly. "I suppose none of you are wrong when it comes to saying I've been overworking myself, but I assure you that I'm fine."

"Didn't you say that before we had final exams at our old school? You didn't sleep for a week after they done." Ed shrugged at the indignant look he got from his friend. "What? I'm telling the truth."

"The way I see it, we'll need to get this done as quickly as possible. Things have gotten a little less hectic at Ever After, so it'd be nice to focus on something else." Raven moved up from her seated position near the others. "I guess we should probably split up into teams or something for this."

"Is this how conversations with these guys always go?" Deuce asked Cleo in a whisper. She gave a brief nod, grabbing his hand so that he could follow behind her.

"It's better to just go along with it. Otherwise, Eddy might curse us or whatever." She cleared her throat, ignoring the perturbed look on her boyfriend's face. "I suppose I'll go with Apple on whatever she has planned. I don't exactly care who joins us, as long as it isn't Eddy."

"Isn't that too bad, because now I have to." Eddy spitefully went to Apple's side. "You coming with us Ray? I'd like some backup here if I have to deal with Queenie for longer than I have to."

"Fine, but if anyone starts to run in fear, that's not on me." She cringed at her wording for a second after sparing a glance towards Cleo and Deuce. "Poor choice of words."

"_It's fine. I'm sure that's what Cleo wants, actually."_ Ghoulia completely ignored Cleo's denial, turning to Ed and Clawdeen. _"I'd suggest that we go on a bit of a recruitment drive in order to make up for the lost members. Assuming we can't get the old ones back on, of course."_

"Makes sense, I guess. Maybe we can get some of our friends into it and go from there." Clawdeen sighed and looked away for a second. "If we can get past the fact our leader practically drove the last ones out."

"We should get this done pretty quick. Maybe we can get Frankie and Draculaura in on it." Ed shrugged at the surprised looks he got. "What? They're both positive and popular. Pretty good fearleading material."

"I'm really proud of the rise in competence, Ed. Keep it up." Double D chuckled but turned serious. "I'm afraid I don't know exactly what to do here. There really isn't any assignment to do right now."

"That's because _you're_ taking a break." Cerise grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the group. "Maddie, would it be okay for us to crash at your dad's tea shoppe? It'd be a nice place to relax."

"I'll be sure to have some chamomiles set up! Or maybe something else? I've been dying to experiment with some flavors for a while." Maddie chirped in, tapping her chin in thought. She kept mumbling as they headed to her tea shoppe. "Probably should keep the more volatile ones in storage. Wouldn't be a good time, too many explosive elements."

"Good, glad that's decided!" Eddy started walking in Bookend's direction, not bothering to check if anyone was following him. "Make sure not to blow anything up when I'm not around. I want to help if that's the case."

"You'll be the first one we call!" Ed followed Clawdeen and Ghoulia, who only shared some worried glances before shrugging it off.

They all left hoping something would come out of this.

They weren't sure if they would turn out to be right on that.

* * *

Cleo was beginning to have some second thoughts about all of this if she was completely honest with herself. It was one thing having to actually seek out help to get her fearleading situation back under control, but another to actually come over to the other side of the border for it.

She didn't see the others as friends yet, but she did realize that they were very resourceful, though. Despite the weird amount of adversity they faced, they had been able to work out certain goals that would've been impossible to do alone.

Even the Ed's had been helpful, if somewhat unpredictable in how they conduct their business. Ed was strange and unknowable in nearly every aspect, except that he's mostly kind until provoked. Eddward was seemingly a mad scientist with a surprising amount of charisma that he used to his advantage. And Eddy…

A lunatic with ambitions. She was wary of him the most if only because he tended to irk her and still succeed in his endeavors. Her reach didn't go into Ever After and that may have driven her a little insane.

It's honestly why she brought Deuce over to their 'meeting' this time. She wanted to get his honest opinion of Eddy since he could be amazingly perceptive when he wanted to be. Getting his opinion would help her find a way to even the playing field in whatever game Eddy was playing.

That and she hasn't been spending as much time with him as she could, which made this all a bonus.

"Got to admit, this ain't a bad place. Surprisingly bright though." Deuce adjusted his sunglasses, trying to take in his surroundings. "Maybe a few less stares would be nice too."

People were indeed looking in their direction, whispering amongst themselves as well. It wasn't a foreign concept to Cleo, though. "Let them. It's not every day they witness greatness like us walk upon their campus."

"I think it's more that you're two monsters hanging out with the Evil Queen's daughter, Snow White's daughter, and the local 'mediator.' Then again, if that keeps you confident." Raven quipped, looking more resigned at the stares. "Doesn't help that we're in the middle of a school civil war but go off I guess."

"We're here!"

"We can see that, Princess, you don't have to shout."

Cleo made sure to stop and assess her surroundings. While she was still cautious around Legends, she did have to admit their set up was wonderful. It was just a simple bookball field, but it still weirdly looked more fantastical than any other sports field could be.

"Holly!" Apple walked over to the cheerhexer team, hugging her friend with a smile on her face. "Sorry to have this all happen so fast, but I figured you would be the best help here."

"I don't mind. I'm glad you asked for me help, though I don't what we can actually do here." Holly turned to Cleo and put a handout. "I've heard a lot of good things about you from Apple, so I hope we can get along well enough."

"Let's hope so." The mummy replied neutrally. She wasn't sure if she should be impressed or not yet, so she was going to forgo judgement until this exercise was over. "I'm not exactly sure what's wrong with my 'leadership' style, but I'll try anything once."

"Good!" Cleo didn't have enough time to figure out whether this cheery disposition was going to be annoying or not before Holly started calling over the other cheerhexers. "Come on, girls, this is the person Apple was talking about earlier."

The mummy grimaced and decided to accept her fate. She felt a hand move onto her shoulder, causing her to jump before realizing it was only Raven. The sorceress gave her a shaky smile, apparently intending to join her on whatever hell she was about to go through.

Cleo actually felt a moment of gratitude right then.

Eddy, Apple, and Deuce stood not too far away from them, watching the scene unfold. The gorgon himself could only look with a raised eyebrow as things went down so quickly.

"I'm still surprised that she agreed to do something like this. She's usually can't take any criticism." Deuce looked at the other two warily. Ed and Double D were the only ones he had any knowledge of, but anyone involved with this school were essentially a mystery to him. "Any idea if this'll work?"

"Nah, I bet Queenie will get ticked off pretty quick and call it quits before the day ends." Eddy put it out there pretty bluntly, so the gorgon had been caught off guard. The fake sorcerer looked back at him and smirked a little. "Don't get me wrong, she sounds determined and all, but you did say she can't take criticism."

"That's a little pessimistic. I'm sure she'll leave with _something_ today." Apple tried to interject, though Deuce could tell she had an inkling that Eddy was half-right. "If anything, at least Raven could learn something from them too."

"If you mean that Faybelle chick might get her to go full dark side, you're out of luck Princess. I'm pretty sure she's after the top spot anyway." He leaned over to her and talked in a stage whisper. "She's _very_ interested and putting Briar to sleep too, so I wouldn't really trust her to do anything you want to do."

Deuce didn't necessarily know what they were talking about, but he could follow along. "Seems like she's trying to be a good friend. Cleo certainly seems like she appreciated it."

"Yeah, Ray's got a bleeding heart though. Might want to take that with a grain of salt." Eddy watched the 'training' happen from far away. "Guess I can give your girlfriend some credit for not going off as soon as getting help was mentioned."

"Because it was a good idea." Apple did something that an outside observer would've called a huff, but obviously princesses didn't do anything like that. "Plus, Monster or not, she is royalty, and royalty knows when to bow out and ask for help. I've had plenty of classes teach me about that."

"Getting help and acting like a damsel are two different things princess."

Deuce really didn't know what to make of this conversation, so he couldn't help but tune it out for the time being. These people were really strange, but ambitious. Of course, Cleo would try to work with them, especially since two of them had magic. Double D and Ed were nice, he's known Ghoulia and Clawdeen for a couple of years, but the only one he had any concrete idea on being okay was that Raven girl. The others were people he hadn't really talked to yet.

He felt an itch at the back of his head, causing him to straighten up. Somebody was staring at him. He looked around and nearly met eyes with some of the guys carrying swords not too far away, most likely a hero student. It looked like some of them were watching him carefully, clearly suspicious.

Deuce couldn't help but feel grateful that Greek myths weren't a part of the stories they tell. He could already feel his neck begin to itch.

Suddenly, the swords of those hero students flew out of their hands and started to bend into one another, causing every single one of them to jump back in fear. They were eventually curled up into one little ball before their very eyes, causing them to run back into whatever locker room they'd been residing in.

"As much as I approve that you'd stand up for him, can you please not destroy school property?"

Apple's voice caused him to jump out of the trance of watching the swords curl up, turning to catch Eddy's magical fire dying out.

"Yeah, but I didn't like how they were looking at him. Real itchy trigger fingers on those guys." Eddy waved it all off. "Not my fault they can't get over the fact Monster can actually visit the place."

"Daring has been trying to get them out of that habit, believe it or not. I didn't even have to ask him to do so." The princess retorted. "Though I guess they'll need a better lesson next time."

"I guess Charmless does have some redeeming qualities after all. What do ya' know?"

As they continued to bicker, Deuce sighed in relief. Guess these people were good after all.

Now if only he could get a read on those other two girls that left for the tea shoppe.

* * *

"I honestly don't get what everyone is so worried about. Yes, things have been pretty stressful, but what isn't nowadays?" Double D rubbed his temples, sitting the table provided at the Wonderland Haberdashery & Tea Shoppe. "That doesn't mean I should slow down. I should still be working."

"I'm sure everyone appreciates the spirit, but I don't think you'll be able to do much if you drop dead of exhaustion… unless you come back." Cerise shrugged, rolling her eyes at the boy's tirade. "Besides, we got other people working on it. Just let them take over for a little bit."

"She's right! The others are very capable, and we can trust them to know exactly what they're doing." Maddie set down a teapot, the smell wafting out of it being somehow calming. "I've chosen chamomile right now until I can make something else. Earl Grey is helping me out, but his tiny little paws can be hard to work with."

"Thank yo- wait, your pet mouse is helping you make tea?" The boy received a nod from the hatter, then deciding to gloss over it for now. "And yes, they're all very capable people, but that doesn't mean I like sitting in the back and waiting for something to happen."

"I feel like something else is going on here." Cerise took a sip from her tea before setting down the cup. "Did something else happen before the fearleader thing? Ed seemed pretty stressed about something too. His heart was beating kind of fast."

"How did you hear his heartbeat?" Maddie asked, though Cerise waved it off with a nervous look in her eyes. She just shrugged herself and continued. "It would be best to get it off your chest. Some things can't be locked away forever, and some beastly problems are best dealt with if you let them out voluntarily."

Double D felt his jaw set and lips turn into a straight line for a second, considering that statement. After a careful moment handling his cup, he wilted slightly. "I suppose I may have had a stressful conversation with Headmistress Bloodgood before the situation with the fearleaders unfolded."

"Really? I thought you liked her better than Grimm. Plus, she seems pretty chill for someone working her job." The hooded girl thought about what she said and backpedaled a bit. "Okay, she's not as stressed as Grimm. I don't know what she's like outside of that."

"Was it another job?" Maddie put in some sugar into her tea, swirling the spoon with a careful precision. Like she was making sure the mixture of the two was correct. "It wouldn't do if the headmistress was overworking one of her students to a near death."

"Nothing of the sort. We were actually finishing up a favor for Cleo to let a friend on her team." The hatted boy soured at the memory of it. "She was asking us some questions about where we used to live. Said it was out of concern for our wellbeing. Ed and I weren't able to give her the answers she wanted."

"Was it a particularly bad place?" Maddie's pet mouse must've finished whatever job it had, climbing up into her hair till it reached her hat. She didn't seem to notice it nestle near her pink curls. "A woman like her wouldn't ask unless it was for good reason. A wise woman, that one."

"I wouldn't say that. It was more of why we didn't want to stay there. If you haven't noticed, our introduction here was quite rushed." Double D was doing his best to mete out information as slowly as possible, but it was slightly difficult doing so in real time. "We left a little suddenly. Maybe didn't exactly have a plan for what to do later, but we the main purpose was to get out of there."

At the concerned looks, he quickly added something else. "Nothing bad, I assure you. We just… needed to go."

"Eddy kinda mentioned some stuff about how you guys got here. Said you had to pull a few schemes to not be hungry or something." Cerise may have said it casually, but the weight behind it was not lost on anyone there. "He didn't seem to think that was weird or anything. Was he actually telling the truth about that?"

"…Maybe?" The boy knew it wasn't satisfying to hear, but he couldn't help but feel like this conversation was steering to places he didn't want it to. "As I said, it was a sudden departure. We might have had to make a trinket or two to sell in various places. Honestly, we're not the only ones to do it."

"I guess that's true, if everyone sold knockoff lotion to make sure they had food the next day." The hooded girl wasn't proud of it but having Double D balk at that was somewhat satisfying. "Look, I get that you don't want to say anything, but you can't say what we know already doesn't ring any alarms in our heads."

"Emphasis on getting why we he won't talk about it." Maddie grabbed Cerise's hand and squeezed it carefully. "Maybe we should back off right now. He's not going to say anything."

At Cerise's questioning look, the pinkette sighed and stirred her tea for a few seconds. Contemplative silence took over the room as the three sat there. Double D and Cerise were obviously tense, keeping their eyes on Maddie, whose silence was putting them on edge even more.

"I had to get away from home too, y'know. Probably not for the same reasons you did, but I had to leave all the same." A long sip of tea took place before she continued. "I'm assuming you know of the Wonderland curse. It didn't happen that long ago."

"Right." Double D went over the facts in his head before speaking hesitantly. "The Evil Queen was trying to win a war against the Queen of Hearts, but it became clear that it was a losing battle. When she started to suffer too many losses to recover from, she supposedly decided that it would simply be taken out of her way entirely."

"And she cursed it." Cerise had the decency to look uncomfortable about all of this, not looking at Maddie at all. "Made Wonderland even more dangerous than ever before, causing a mass migration. Eventually, every path to Wonderland was cut off just in case the curse spread."

"Correct." The pinkette didn't have a sad look on her face. If either of the two could describe it, they would probably call it more of a forlorn look then anything. "My father and I were one of the lucky few to make it to Ever After before they decided to close everything off for good. We luckily didn't leave anyone we knew behind. It was one of the few times I was glad not to know my mother. But I did suffer the loss of my home and the life we had."

Double D looked into his cup; the tea having gone cold at this point. He frowned deeply. "I appreciate you telling me this, but I can't say that this is the same issue. Very different, if I'm being honest."

"But I can say that I understand what it's like adjusting to dealing with that change. The tea shoppe didn't start up overnight. My father and I had to work hard to get it to this kind of success while being refugees in a land that wasn't sure what do with us." Maddie shrugged. "I'm not saying this to guilt trip you. I'd never do that in my wildest dreams. But I am saying that I've been there to some degree."

Double D still didn't look convinced, hands tightening around the piece of china in his hands. He didn't look up either, like he was willing this conversation to simply not exist at all.

Cerise sighed. "I'm sorry that I tried to pry. I've got my own secrets to deal with too, so I should've understood that you didn't want to talk about it." She reached over, grabbing his shoulder, and giving it a squeeze. "Talk about it when you're ready too, okay? Let's have a relaxing time until then."

The boys jaw was still tight, but he nodded eventually, straightening himself out. He put a smile on his face. He was willing to forgive for now, especially since no actual damage was done. "I'll think about it. Thank you for your concern, but I'm not willing to talk about it at this time."

This satisfied them for now, though he could tell that Maddie saw through it There was no way in hell he was going to talk about Peach Creek any time soon. It was all still too fresh for him and for the other Ed's too.

"_Besides,"_ he thought to himself, finishing off the rest of the tea. _"I'm not the only one that has secrets to protect."_

* * *

The recruitment wasn't going too bad if Ed was honest to himself. At a least a few people looked interested despite the fact Cleo's reputation preceded her at every turn. A few more heads were likely to turn with Clawdeen and Frankie at the helm of it too, but it didn't look like even that would help them.

"At this point, I'm think I'll just have to join." Ed mumbled, sorting through some flyers they'd printed up. Ghoulia was an absolute wizard when it came to designing, printing, and getting them out so quickly. "I don't think I'd be able to go to the top of the pyramid, though."

"_If Cleo's reputation keeps getting in our way, we might have to. Who knows, a boy might be a good addition."_ Ghoulia sullenly put up a flier or two on the cork board, sighing. _"We seriously do need some help, otherwise Monster High won't be able to attend any of the events set for most of the year."_

"Not to bring the mood down more, but we got another rejection." Clawdeen grumbled, moving next to the two with a huff. Frankie wasn't far behind, neck-bolts sparking in frustration. "Though, I wouldn't mind if you were at the bottom of the pyramid. We wear athletic shorts under those skirts, and I'd appreciate a solid base for once."

"I get that Cleo is pretty bossy, but I don't understand why _everyone_ was willing to turn us down." The electric girl put the fliers down and sat down on the floor with a depressed look on her face. "We should've had at least one person say yes. Maybe I should look at those magazines again…"

"_Didn't I tell you that everything in those is ineffectual?"_ Ghoulia reminded, sitting down right next to her. _"Though, you do have a point. Cleo is a very controlling person, but that shouldn't scare off nearly everyone from wanting to join. We used to have requests to join the fearleader squad every month, but she always said no."_

"I don't know, I heard some horror stories from my brother. He always complained about how she acted to pretty much every server on their dates, how she'd force him to dress, what he did at school." The werewolf paused for a second before rolling her eyes. "You know, maybe it was a good thing that she broke up with him. He's probably more relaxed being single then he was in the relationship."

"I wouldn't let Cleo hear that, or she might kick you off the team." Ed did stop rifling through the fliers, giving her a quizzical look. "Why did you join the fearleader squad anyway? You and Cleo really don't like each other at all, and I can't really call you two friends."

"We _were _friends at one point. Things just sort of got complicated after high school started." Clawdeen looked wistfully down the hallway, mentally going back. "We met in middle school a year after she got out of her tomb. We got along mostly because our sisters sometimes hung out and we shared some of the same hobbies."

"What changed? Other than dating and breaking up with Clawd." Frankie added the last part in a rush.

The werewolf frowned deeply at that. "I don't honestly know. I know a few things about her home life thanks to me being her friend, so I knew her dad was finally putting on some pressure. Her sister's a piece of work too and having her around for senior year wasn't great. In the middle of freshman year, she just sort of changed."

"_Her father was a major stressor and her sister only made things worse. She started to assert her 'authority' before freshman year ended and eventually took over the school. You know the rest, of course."_ Ghoulia sighed once again. Ed plopped down next to her, prompting the zombie to lean her head against his side. _"It's not a fun story. Not our story to tell either, so don't say anything to her next time you see her."_

"Okay. It's not like I don't relate. I don't like my parents either." Ed blinked, seemingly not registering what he said before turning towards Frankie. "You think we should just stick with friends as temporary recruits? I think Draculaura might want to join just to help us out."

"Hey, ghouls!"

Ed identified the voice coming from Lagoona, a sea monster he hadn't had the time to get to know. She was running towards them, holding a flier that looked like it was ripped up and thrown into the trash.

"Someone's been throwing away your fliers. I followed the trail and I think it might be Toralei and those other fearleaders that quit." Lagoona stopped eventually, handing over the ruined flier to them. "I don't know why, but it's been happening all day. I think she's been badmouthing the team too. Was the split that bad?"

"I don't remember it being too bad. I mean, they did prepare a sign and everything. And music." Frankie trailed off, not looking anyone in the eye.

"Okay, I get badmouthing Cleo, but why the entire team? Fearleading practice could be brutal, but they can't really blame the entire team for that." Clawdeen looked at the paper with a close eye. "Plus, she ripped it up enough to know it's sabotage, but not enough to actually hide it. Was she hoping one of us would find this?"

"_It appears so. I wondered if her quitting was just her way of making a move, but I originally dismissed it."_ At the confused looks the others gave her, Ghoulia moved her glassed up her nose and explained. _"Toralei always had an acerbic relationship between her and Cleo. The two fought on quite a lot of issues while she was on the fearleading squad. I'm starting to think that this is going to end in her attempting to take over as queen bee of the school."_

"Seriously?" Ed didn't really believe it, but something in the back of his mind couldn't help but agree with that logic. With a heaving sigh, he pulled out his iCoffin, already dialing in a number. "I'll start looking into this. You guys keep on going with the recruitment drive."

He left hearing some goodbyes, along with Lagoona mentioning how some of their mutual friends would be happy to join. He couldn't help but feel glad about that, knowing that one problem was practically solved.

Apparently, though, another one was deciding to jump up on them.

Ed finished dialing the number and held the phone to his ear. He talked quietly, but slow enough to make sure he was heard.

"Hey, Bloodgood? Can I ask you something about some students you know?"

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed! For some of you, some of the things talked about may not be surprising, but I hope you still enjoyed it nonetheless. I hope it at least adds some sort of drama that you didn't consider before.**

**Also, playlists! As a writing exercise, I decided to make a playlist for Ed, Double D, and Eddy in order to capture their personalities and get to know them better. I'll provide a link below so you guys can listen to them as well. Though I do warn you, some of them are technically explicit or may not make sense yet. But some of the songs mentioned will make sense in time.**

**Ed Mix: playlist/0dQGVRiVo5fNjzi7EVOP3C**

**Double D Mix: playlist/3oxjXLhVcmIOMUyreQo8qq**

**Eddy Mix: playlist/3hnE8X86py3JGyp8a9US8e**

**More will come out in time for the other characters (Cerise, Maddie, Raven, Apple, Ghoulia, Clawdeen, and Cleo), though I can't say when. This exercise was pretty spontaneous.**

**Either way, I'll see you all soon on the next chapter!**


	17. Elections and Practice

**Another day, another chapter, I suppose. Schedules been a little been weird, but things are still going good. Also, glad to say that this fic has officially hit above 100,000 words, which is a record for me when it comes to fics!**

**Not much to say on this one other then it's still going. Eventually we'll reach the specials soon enough, though in the order I say they do. Hopefully you all enjoy it and that you all have a good day!**

* * *

Ed was starting to wonder if that session with the cheer hexers actually helped or not, but it appeared to have some effect. He hadn't been there for the past practices, so there wasn't exactly any point of reference. The practice he did go to showed some improvement in management style, he guessed, but whether it was good enough to keep the remaining and new members was hard to say.

Though, even if there was an improvement with training, the fact that Cleo was making them work at every possible event to cheer at was kind of ruining that.

Ghoulia moved over to stand beside him, prompting Ed to hand her a water bottle. Despite the fact she never participated in the cheers herself, she looked dead tired. As Cleo's right hand ghoul, she had to be at nearly every event herself.

"Rough day?" He watched her down half the bottle in one go, almost chuckling as she gasped for breath afterward. "Well, someone's thirsty."

"_You'd be thirsty too after having to organize, execute, and review five cheering events in one week."_ The zombie sighed deeply, handling the bottle carefully as she pulled out her laptop. _"Considering we might have even more next week, I certainly have my work cut out for me."_

"That's fair. Looks like Cleo's running you ghouls into the ground." Ed watched as the latest routine went off without a hitch. The fearleaders looked tired, though, something that was definitely seen if you looked close enough. "I get that we need to catch up on stuff but killing you guys seems a little extreme."

"_I'm pretty sure I'll be full dead before we actually get into cheer competitions this year. Bury me in my Dead Fast comic books if I do."_ She took another long gulp of water, typing into her computer. She didn't even look up when the familiar sound of heels was heading towards them. _"Hello, Cleo. Decided to give everyone a break?"_

"Lagoona was starting to get dehydrated and we finished the set. Might as well give them a break for today." Whether it was due to her half-dead status or not, Cleo didn't look as tired as most of the living members of the team. She moved to check on some of the data flashing on Ghoulia's screen. "How are we doing online?"

"_Excluding any perverts, we're doing pretty well. Some of the more extravagant cheer routines are receiving some popularity on FrightTube."_ A few clicks later and Ghoulia was overlooking some of the social media pages she helped run. _"Twitcher and Frightbook are also receiving some attention as well. Still trying to sort things out on any others."_

"Good to hear." The mummy looked over at Ed with a small amount of suspicion. "How's the Toralei situation?"

"I'm annoying her as we speak." He clicked on iCoffin to his notes on the situation. "Fighting sabotage with sabotage and keeping all the posters up. Didn't get much information from Bloodgood, though."

That was all completely true. Bloodgood, while still technically doing her part on the deal, couldn't legally give him anything about Toralei that wouldn't seem actively creepy. He was able to figure out that she was a delinquent before coming to Monster High, but nothing was released about her criminal activity.

However, Ed was doing what he did best; be a thorn in someone's side. After the poster thing, Ed has been essentially making rounds across the school to check that any posters she tried to tear down were replaced by two more. He'd roped Deuce into it as well, which wasn't hard. Not to mention the online stuff was thoroughly checked by Ghoulia in case some weird form of trolling occurred.

It's funny, but even though Ed hadn't even met Toralei just yet, he was already probably one of the most annoying people in her life so far. It would be funny if he had time to think about it that much.

Now if they could only get some video evidence of her doing something to Bloodgood, then maybe they'd be in business.

"Haven't caught her on video messing up the posters yet. Bloodgood can't really put her in detention until then." Ed shrugged, putting the iCoffin away. "But it shouldn't take long. She can't be that careful."

"Oh, she can be. Her betrayal may have come as a surprise, but that didn't mean I didn't have my eye on her before this." Cleo huffed, crossing her arms at the memory of the girl. "She's cunning, that's for sure. She always seemed to have information on any other team during cheer competitions, even on ones that started that year."

"_Which is why I suggest making sure she doesn't do the same to us and sell that information to the highest bidder."_ Ghoulia interjected, tapping her foot on the floor in irritation. _"I never approved of that tactic, but it did get us an idea on what to expect. If she's willing to destroy some posters just to make sure we don't have enough members, then she'll sell us out quickly."_

"She's got a point. I used to know a guy that wanted me and my friends to fail in a lot of things we were doing." Ed shuddered, as if reliving a war story. "Eddy had a pretty bad school photo once during picture day and that guy spread it all over school the same day we got it. Made them into masks. I still think he has nightmares about that."

"…Disturbing." Cleo decided to just brush that off, killing any curiosity in favor of her sanity. "How long do you think it'll take for her to quit?"

"No idea." He shrugged honestly, looking almost apologetic. Ed had seen stubbornness like this before and knew that it could last for a while. "We've been doing this for days now, but she hasn't stopped. I don't know why she keeps doing this."

"_We might figure out in a few seconds,"_ Ghoulia narrowed her eyes and closed up her laptop. _"She's coming this way."_

Ed looked over in the direction the zombie was looking towards. He narrowed his eyes as well, watching what appeared to be a werecat walking in their direction. Orange in color, with short hair and punkish clothing, he honestly couldn't tell if it was supposed to be intimidating or stylish.

He wasn't one to talk about style though. Especially about an overgrown orange tabby.

"Well, hello Cleo." Toralei didn't even bother looking in the other two's direction, focused solely on the queen bee. "Glad to see that your little ghoul squad is holding up. A lot of cheering events in the past couple of days, too."

"Yes, and no thanks to you, Stripe." Cleo didn't look amused in the slightest, uncapping her water bottle as if ready to dump it on the other girl. "Vandalizing our posters? A pretty low blow considering you decided to abandon us out of nowhere."

"Hey, it's not my fault that your leadership style didn't work with me. I needed to move on anyway, get on to newer horizons." Toralei didn't look even remotely guilty for it, shrugging her shoulders. "And is someone really trashing your posters? That's just petty. I have no idea who'd be doing that."

"_Just because we don't have evidence now doesn't mean we won't have any later."_ Ghoulia stated, tapping at the floor impatiently. _"We've already informed Bloodgood, so I'd suggest being careful if you decide to continue down this path."_

"Sorry, what was that Ghoulia? Can't really understand you." The werecat smirked at the irritated look the zombie gave her. "Wish I could, I'm sure it's wonderful advice."

"_I know very well that you understand me, Stripe. Pretending will get you nowhere." _The zombie rolled her eyes, bothered but forcing herself to not care. _"Then again, it's not like you ever listened to me anyway. Not sure why I expected you to do it now."_

"Still don't understand, but nice talk." Toralei then looked over to Ed, purring softly. "I'll have to admit, though, you're new. Didn't think you'd be hanging out with these two so often already."

"Well, we did have some projects working together, so I like to think we're friends." Whether or not Ed's friendliness was feigned or not was hard to tell. He seemed genuine despite what others may think. "I'd do anything for my friends, too, so I like helping out around here."

"Seems to me they only keep you around as muscle. I wouldn't exactly call lugging around coolers and equipment helping." Toralei looked like she was the cat that caught the canary, trying to drag his confidence into the ground.

"I wouldn't say that." Ed shrugged, as positive as ever, a grin on his face. "It's small stuff, but it helps out in a lot of ways. Plus, I'm pretty strong! All of that stuff is nothing."

The werecat frowned for the first time since the conversation started. "Are you always this annoying, or are you just like this when someone's trying to make you mad?"

"Oh, I'm always like this! You have no idea how annoying I can be!" Ed chuckled, irritating the werecat even more. He eventually stopped, tilting his head, and looking at her strangely, grin never changing in the slightest. "Do you want to see me when I'm angry, though?"

"Huh?!" Toralei blinked, not expecting the change in topics.

"I said," Ed titled his head even further, grin showing much more teeth. Shadows flickered behind him, tentacles and monstrous feathers appearing for just a few seconds. "Do you want to see me _mad?"_

The orange tabby backed off for a second, shivering at the empty glare coming from Ed before immediately turning away.

"Screw this. I'm getting back to my own team." Toralei sent a glare behind her. "See you on the courts, De Nile."

Things were silent for a few moments, the ghouls sending looks Ed way while he watched the orange tabby leave. When the silence began to drag on, he looked at the ghouls with a pleasantly confused expression.

"What?" He said, causing them both to jump.

"Nothing!" Cleo gave Ghoulia a look to keep quiet about what she saw as well. "Ghoulia, can Toralei actually form up a second fearleader team? I don't think Headmistress Bloodgood would approve of something like that."

"_It's unusual, but not exactly something that can be denied."_ The zombie already had the school guidebook out, reading through it thoroughly. _"As long as the activity is constructive physically or mentally, they can't really be denied by the school board. Bloodgood would allow it, but she'd only allow one team to go to any cheer competitions."_

"Well, that's problematic. I'm sure with all the practice we're getting, that won't be an issue." Cleo watched as Lagoona, hanging with her boyfriend, almost fell to the ground in exhaustion. "…with a few tweaks to the schedule, of course."

"Good, I'm pretty sure Frankie was starting to lose track of her arms." Ed laughed, moving away. "I'm gonna get some of the equipment back to storage. Call me when you need me!"

"We'll make sure to!" Cleo waved him off, watching him go. She didn't say anything else until he was out of hearing range. "Are we ever going to talk about how he's honestly the most terrifying person in the school?"

"_No, but it certainly has its advantages." _Ghoulia went back to messing with her laptop, not even looking up from the screen. _"At least he doesn't see us as a threat."_

"You're only saying that because you find it attractive."

"_Don't you shame me, De Nile."_

* * *

Double D would've started to assume that exhaustion was contagious if it wasn't scientifically accurate. Then again, having now been on the other side of a near collapse after having his was a little suspicious.

Then again, according to Clawdeen and Draculaura, it was Cleo's fault more than anything.

"Well, I'd say that the tables have turned if I wasn't afraid of immediate and violent consequences." Double D looked over to Clawd, who'd dragged them into Clawdeen's workstation. "Any idea if they've been drinking any water."

"Clawdeen kinda has to drink a lot normally since werewolves overheat a lot, so she should be fine. I'm not sure about Draculaura though." Clawd patted himself down with a towel, still cooling off from the game. "She usually has some kind of veggie stuff after doing this type of stuff, so she's probably going to need some help there."

"That's for the best then." Double D knew about the whole 'vegan vampire' thing and reminded himself to ask how she figured that out later. "Maddie, Cerise, and I will keep an eye on your sister. Might as well make sure she doesn't force herself to work on her commissions."

"Good luck. You pretty much gave me the easy job." Clawd laughed, but a swift kick to the shin by Clawdeen shut him up. He reached a hand towards the vampire, picking her up daintily. "Come on, I think the lunch ladies are still serving stuff in the creepateria."

"Thank you." Draculaura almost looked embarrassed by this, almost shrinking into her uniform. As they moved ahead, she turned and waved towards the others. "Make sure she gets some rest!"

"We will!" Cerise waved her off, shrugging a little at the display. "Jeez, why do we always get saddled with the workaholics?"

"Maybe they just happen to be our type?" Maddie's answer only got a confused and flustered look from the hooded girl. She didn't seem bothered by the situation, having started helping out by sorting out some of her friend's scattered materials. "Though I guess that makes us the more laid back. Ironic, coming from me I suppose."

"At least we're all self-aware about it." Double D sighed, eventually leaning down to Clawdeen, who had remained face first into the beanbag chair she'd claimed while coming in here. "Well, I didn't think two of us would be having a meltdown in one week, but here we are. I suppose that isn't your fault, though."

"I will bite you, Double D. These teeth aren't just for show." The werewolf leveled a glare at him, tired eyes trying to show a little malice.

"Kinky."

Everyone in the room gave Maddie a shocked look before looking away suddenly, red in the face. The hatter only giggled at the reaction, still sorting through the materials lying around.

"Anyway, inappropriate comments aside," Cerise got up, trying to change the subject. "Since we're here, might as well go over school stuff. Personally, I think things are calming down slightly at Ever After."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean everything has settled just yet. Still some grumbling on the Rebel side." Maddie got thoughtful for a moment, the Wonderlandian huffing. "Most are lodging complaints with the school that since a lot of the Royals are, well, royals, they aren't getting much of a say in their school lives."

"I can kinda see the point in that. Not everyone's getting their fair say." Clawdeen grabbed a sports drink handed to here by Double D, taking a long draw from it before continuing to speak. "Any elections coming up? Maybe you can snag some people from the Rebel side and see if you can sneak them in there."

"From what I can tell, there is an election coming up that- wait," Double D went through some information on his MirrorPhone before grimacing. "It's student council president. And it's being led by Apple."

Cerise immediately groaned, slouching in her seat. "Of course. One of the biggest seats and it's already got the most popular girl in school behind it. And I highly doubt she's going to just give it up for the sake keeping everyone happy."

"Doesn't mean that no one can still run. Popular or not, a Rebel running will get some votes." Clawdeen ruminated for a second before throwing out a suggestion. "Probably a good idea to get one of our inner circle in there too. You think Raven would be willing to go for it?"

Maddie opened her mouth, looking almost happy about the plan, but she stopped. "As much as I love the idea, I don't think that would work. Raven didn't even mean to start the Rebel movement and doesn't really want to lead it, so I doubt she'd want anything official."

"That's not to mention that, even with Rebel support, she'd most likely lose." At the surprised looks sent his way, Double D put his arms up frantically. "Don't get me wrong, Raven is a good person and doesn't want to do anything to hurt anyone. However, only we actively know that and very few people outside of our friend group are willing to change that view. I don't even suspect some of the active Rebels trust her."

He swallowed his spit for a second before saying one more thing. "That's why I propose we send in Maddie instead."

There was a moments of silence before Maddie, of all people, let out a flat "what."

"Not that I don't like the idea," Clawdeen started, turning to the hatter for a second. "And don't get me wrong, Maddie, you're practically my little caffeine angel at this point," She turned back to Double D. "But she's a Rebel too. She's smart as all get out, but people also think she's nuts."

"Let me explain," He cleared his throat, getting into the right headspace for this. "Yes, some people do find Maddie a little off kilter, but she's only a reputable person within Ever After High. She's helped plenty of people with things, Royal or Rebel, and is also known as being incredibly intelligent. Her success in all of her classes and known kindness would be a boon in the election."

"She doesn't exactly have a lot of after school stuff either. The croquet team and her job might get in the way, but probably not that bad." Cerise seemed to get the logic behind it, steepling her fingers into a pyramid of contemplation. "Plus, Apple does a lot more stuff, so Headmaster Grimm can't really deny her from running based on that alone. It'd be hypocritical."

"Stop, guys, you're going to make me blush." Maddie was almost as pink as the hair she brushed with her fingers. "But what about Apple? She might not like that I want to run against her."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." Clawdeen's own fears had been put to rest. She was starting to get into political mode herself, despite never being interested in this before. "She might even welcome some competition. She'd probably even take it as a chance to win back some Rebels or something."

"Even if she did have a problem, it's not like she'd be able to do anything about it." Cerise shrugged. "She'd have to go full dictator to stop us, and that'd reflect poorly on her. Plus, even if Maddie loses, it's not like anyone worse is in the seat already. Apple supports on a better relationship between Legends and Monsters, so it's we aren't really losing anything after the election ends."

"It seems like most of us agree that doing this would be the best course of action. However, we do need to make sure of one thing." Double D looked officially at Maddie, about ready to plead at this point. "Maddie, do you actually want to run? I also apologize for talking about all of this before getting your permission."

The hatter didn't really know what to say, something evidenced by the conflicted look on her face. She sighed, though, raising a single finger. "I'll do it on one condition."

"Yes?" The boy felt himself sweat a little at this. What does she want?

"I get to pick the color of my campaign stuff."

The room seemed to let out a sigh in relief. Double D's certainly felt his own stress ebb out of him.

"What colors you want, anyway? Might as well know what I have to coordinate." Clawdeen asked jokingly, grabbing an errant notebook from a nearby table.

"Magenta, yellow, and cyan." The hatter grinned at the surprised look from the werewolf. "What? I think they fit me."

"Can't say it doesn't." Cerise shrugged, leaning back into her seat. She pursed her lips though and gained a somewhat questioning look on her face. "Wait, did we call our friends an 'inner circle?' Did we become a secret society while I wasn't looking?"

"Oh, yes, you must've missed the blood pact we all committed. A very nice ceremony. You should've been there." Double D stated jokingly, mirth apparent in his eyes. "We should probably put your name on there as soon as possible. It would be pretty awkward at meetings if you weren't sworn in."

"Hey, don't joke about that. With the way things are going, I can see that happening." Cerise pointed an accusing finger at him before moving on to Maddie. "And she'd _definitely _make us do that if she really wanted to. Her puppy dog eyes are way too good for someone that isn't a werewolf."

"Who says we're joking? We're making a sacrifice this weekend." Clawdeen twirled her pencil with a smile. "Somebody is really messing up the invites. We really need to fire whoever's in charge of that."

"Yeah, we can't commit to world domination unless we have a proper communication system!" Maddie hit her fist on the table, eyes alight. "The schools maybe just practice, but we'll be taking on the rest of the world soon enough!"

There was a moment of silence before the group just started laughing at the ongoing joke, the conversation devolving at a rapid rate. Despite the near frantic energy from earlier, it dissipated at the stupid teenage shenanigans.

Clawd and Draculaura, walking back into the room with a veggie smoothie, looked at their fellow teenagers, dumbfounded. Clawd was the first of the two to speak up.

"What's so funny?" He asked, honestly a little afraid of the answer. The four teens only looked at each other before looking at him.

"World domination."

"Campaign strategies."

"Color coding."

The varied answers caused another round of laughter, and a very confused werewolf.

Draculaura just shrugged, looking at Clawd with a knowing look. "It's a secret society thing. We wouldn't understand."

That did not help Clawd's confusion in the slightest.

* * *

Eddy, standing in the middle of Bookends bustling market, couldn't help but wonder about his situation and what exactly led to it.

Joining a random school wasn't exactly unusual. Figuring out it was filled with supernatural people and creatures was admittedly a punch to the face. Blending in said groups was also something he didn't expect to do. Not to mention practically trying to control things behind the scenes by preventing both of the schools from devolving into two separate civil wars.

However, he didn't think it would end up with him being a pack mule to two princesses. That admittedly sucked.

"Why does somebody need so many shoes?" He muttered to himself, watching as Apple and Raven talked with Ashlynn over at the counter. He'd been standing there for about ten minutes, losing his goddamn mind. "Friggin' rich people, too much money to spend and too much time. I'd take it, but friggin' Sockhead not letting me scam people."

"You enjoying yourself, Eddy?" Raven and Apple had to get out of the conversation as Ashlynn received another order. The sorceress moved to stand beside him, watching the other customers flit about the store. "I'm pretty sure your muttering is going to make everyone run out of here soon."

"Sorry about having you move things around. Daring was a little busy and couldn't make it." Apple's genuine apology dimmed Eddy's irritation, though only a little bit. "We're mostly just hanging out here until a package comes in. We aren't allowed to get certain items on school property, so this was the second-best place."

"Nice to know that I'm your second choice, Princess." Eddy rolled his eyes, more for show then anything. Apple hadn't proved herself to be a threat so far, so he might as well try and be her friend. "What exactly are we waiting for, anyway? As much I'm okay with shady stuff, I want to know before I'm forced to get involved."

"It's nothing shady, Eddy. It's just a magic mirror I'm buying because _someone_ broke the last one I had." Apple said it jokingly, though Raven did look embarrassed for being called out. "Raven was able to pay for it, though, so no harm done."

"That's only because I didn't want to hold up it up and have to pretend it wasn't broken anymore. You know how hard that is without using telekinetic magic?" The sorceress sighed, stretching as if to emphasis the sore muscles. "I should really work out more. Might actually pass our gym classes then."

"Why does Apple need a magic mirror? Isn't that a little weird for a daughter of Snow White to have?" The boy couldn't help but feel that was a bit backwards, considering everything about their stories. "And you make it _compliment_ you, Princess? I thought your little fiancé had enough ego for the both of you."

"It's not an ego thing!" She said it almost too fast for his liking, obviously defensive. "It's just a nice thing to hear sometimes. Especially after a long day. Some people just want to relax a bit differently."

"It is a bit weird to have a mirror compliment you, though. Besides, don't people tell you you're the fairest of them all every day?" Raven shrugged, playing with a strand of her hair. "Wonder what my mom would say if she knew I was buying one those. She had one and had a whole morning routine with it."

Eddy bit back any more complaints, thinking it over. "If it makes ya' feel better, the fact you're buying it for your destined enemy would probably make her throw a fit." He smiled at the chuckle that he was able to draw out of the both of them. "Even more if you're using her personal funds. That'd really hit where it hurts."

"God, it would, wouldn't it?" Raven flicked on her magic, looking at it with a good amount of nostalgia. "Then again, she never really got mad whenever I did something the way a 'non-Evil Queen' would. Disappointed, maybe, but never really mad about it. Always trying to nudge me into villainy every day and was always weirdly patient about it."

"Hm." Apple hummed, looking at a bracelet on her left hand, obviously doing her best not to mess with it herself. "I'd say my mother was the same way, but she wasn't. She always put me into those princess etiquette classes early on and made sure I attended every single one of them. Not to mention always putting me in extracurriculars."

"My parents were pretty laid back, all considering. Maybe a little overbearing, but they didn't mean to be." Eddy shrugged, looking between the two with some interest. "Anything else about your families your willing to share? Might as well since we've got the time."

Raven looked hesitant for a second before shrugging. "I used to have a puppy, you know. For about a couple of days, at least." The sorceress made it sound like a fond memory, a small smile on her face. "Small chocolate lab that my dad got for me. Figured I'd need a little friend since I didn't have a lot of them growing up."

"What happened to it?" The boy of the group couldn't help but not like where this was going.

"My mom eventually found out about it." Raven shrugged, a little bitterness edging into her voice. "Again, she never got angry, but she was disappointed that dad pulled something like that without telling her. As soon as the dog was out of my sight, she took it away somewhere and decided to change it into a literal hellhound with some magic. It didn't try to attack me, but when I saw what she did with it, I almost threw a fit about it."

Apple and Eddy genuinely cringed at that, the blonde's positive look disappearing while the Ed-boys soured. After a few moments, Apple decided to throw something in to make the playing field a little bit even.

"I suppose my mother had her own faults as well. That doesn't mean I don't love her," The princess raised her hands up in a defensive gesture. "But there was the occasional rough patch. She was always concerned about how I looked, especially since I didn't get the black hair common for a Snow White. Always had me on diet plans, workout routines, and beauty pageants growing up to make sure I looked the part. Even talked about dying my hair at some point when I was nine."

It was Raven's turn to wince at that, hissing through her teeth. "Wow, that sucks. At least my mom was okay with how I looked." The sorceress shrugged, scrutinizing her outfit for the longest of seconds. "Then again, I actually like dressing like this, so go figure."

Eddy felt all the pressure land on him after Raven finished. The two weren't really paying attention to him, but he didn't like the idea of the exchange of information here being unequal. Plus, that'd look pretty bad later.

"My mom was pretty okay. I guess my dad was too." The boy tried to nonchalantly add in. He mentally counted down from a hundred to avoid getting anxious from their looks. "They were both pretty busy when I was kid, though. Dad was a car salesman and my mom ran a legit version of those multi-level marketing schemes. Left me to deal with my brother a lot so they can support the both of us."

"I guess the job market wasn't that great?" Raven's expression turned perplexed for a moment. "Aren't there programs around that are supposed to make sure Legends get a job in the human world if they don't get one here? Seem like they shouldn't have needed to work so hard."

"My dad wasn't big on things that looked like charity. So was my mom, so they had to work pretty hard to afford to live in suburbia for as long we did." Eddy scoffed, laughing a bit. "It wasn't even the amount of work that they had to do that ticked me off. It's whenever I tried to talk to them about something, they usually brushed me off because they were so tired. Especially when…"

He cut himself off then and there, shutting his mouth with a large click of his teeth. Huh, almost went on a full monologue there. I mean, this maybe confession time Eddy, but can't just unload all of that to make yourself seem like the most traumatized person here. For crying out loud, if he'd said something else to them, they could probably look that stuff up and figure out the human thing. Or god forbid…

"Eddy?" Apple's voice jarred him out of his thought process, taking him out of the mental spiral he almost put himself into. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine." He took a slow breath, making sure he was even. He looked out the window cautiously, almost like he was checking for a familiar face. "I was able to get them to listen eventually, but it took a while and maybe some maneuvering for them find out I was serious. They relapse occasionally, but they're okay parents. Mostly."

Eddy couldn't help but mentally thank whatever deity existed when a troll carrying a package was walking towards the door. Raven noticed him first and waved him over, though not before giving him one last look. Apple did too but was quicker to get things signed over.

He sighed once again, head hitting the back of the wall. Smooth move, Eddy, almost info-dumped your entire life story to people that you started calling friends a couple weeks ago. Probably almost gave yourself away in the process too if his luck was consistent enough to predict that.

He didn't even know why he was so agitated. His parents didn't know where he was, so that meant _he_ didn't either. As long as he stayed in this little supernatural bubble, he was untraceable to anyone from Peach Creek. Or anyone human whatsoever, really. No parents, no cul-de-sac kids, no Kanker sisters…

"_Hey, Squirt, wanna play Say Uncle?"_

…and not _him._ Eddy's love for him to find this place. Maybe he'd even give him a piece of his mind.

Despite the mental pep talk, though, he couldn't ignore how his hands would occasionally flicker with magic as they shook.

* * *

**A little dark for an ending, but I think it works! Also, it seems like I've really evolved when it comes to my writing style, which seems to slowly change as time goes on. Hopefully, that isn't a bother to anyone. Seems like I'm also laying down things earlier then I thought too, but so far so good.**

**I hope you all enjoyed and that you review/comment. See you in the next one!**


	18. Campaigning and Cheering

**Hey everybody! Hope you enjoy the upcoming chapter. Just a few announcements to make first.**

**I've updated the drabble and one shot series of this fanfiction with two more chapters. Random topics mostly, but I'm certain you'll like them. You can find it among my works!**

**I've also created another drabble and one shot series for my other fanfiction "Mutated Ectoplasm!" It's only one chapter for now. Just like the first one, it's available in my works and will be updated randomly whenever I'm in the mood for a drabble.**

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter and feel free to look at the two works mentioned above!**

* * *

Bloodgood was very proud of the boys she decided to take under her care. Admittedly, they did tend to throw her off with whatever plan they came up with. The metal tentacles, Ed's monster costume, and Eddy somehow faking magic where not a part of the plan but were definitely welcome. Not to mention the amount of plans they seemingly latched themselves onto.

She couldn't help but mentally compare them to jugglers in some ways; a lot of balls in the air at once, usually trying to balance them out carefully, all while making it look entertaining to prevent people from seeing how difficult it was.

She honestly worried for them in some cases, even when she herself couldn't help but be entertained occasionally. This is why she usually set up meetings with them.

"How is everything going on your end, Eddy? I've heard you've been pretty busy as a moderator at Ever After." Bloodgood made sure to hide the papers listing Grimm's latest round of complaints. "A tough job, from what I've heard."

"Eh, only a little." Eddy shrugged at the question, messing with his magic randomly. It's weird how, despite being human, it apparently became second nature for him to use it. "Any day where I can prank people without getting into trouble is a good day, so there's that."

"I suppose that is a somewhat obvious question." The headmistress chuckled. Of course he would consider it an upside. "And all of your classes are going smoothly. At least, that's what I've heard from Baba Yaga."

Eddy snorted, rolling his eyes good naturedly. "If I didn't, Sockhead would have my head. Besides, some of the magic classes can actually be pretty fun when they let you loose." The human flicked his magic off, looking her in the eye. "And before you ask, things are slowing down between the Rebel and Royal conflicts. Grimm's been quiet, though, and that's never a good thing."

"Then he's planning something. He hasn't changed at all since high school, I suppose." Bloodgood sighed, feeling a vein throb in her head. "If anything, we'll just have to hope he isn't planning on throwing you under the bus for something."

"So _that's_ where that tension is from." He snickered at the thought of a young Bloodgood and Grimm battling it out on campus and found it funnier than it should be. "Is little ol' Grimm still mad about how you beat him debate club or something."

"I'd say no, but he is known to carry on ridiculous grudges." Her tone turned somewhat nostalgic at that. "High school was such a weird time. I'm not sure if I miss it."

"Is that when you came up with this Master Plan of yours?" Eddy flicked on his magic again, casually changing the subject. It went unnoticed by Bloodgood, who'd seemingly gone full nostalgic at this point. "Can't imagine this is some spur-of-the-moment mid-life crisis that caused it."

"A mix of both, actually." Eddy could practically _see_ her eyes gloss over as she remembered something. "Don't get me wrong, I've noticed how things have been stagnant since I started high school. I was a dual student myself and it can let you to see things you wouldn't normally figure out if you only attended one.

"It's strange once you think about it. How nothing has changed within such a long-time frame, no matter how much we've progressed technologically." She huffed at that, tapping the wood on her desk. "I couldn't help but hate it when I was your age and hated it even more as I grew up. I've had a lot of time to come up with some ideas and have only now started implementing some of them."

"I'm guessing you've had help with that. I mean, I can't imagine all of this was done by yourself." That was something Eddy had always been curious about. She'd gotten him into Ever After with as little trouble as possible. Especially with Grimm at the helm of it. "Probably a few contacts."

"Only a few," Bloodgood shrugged. A few favors had to be picked up now and then and whether that mean she had to move some along helped things. "Baba Yaga is an old friend I've come to rely on. A sycophant or two had to be recruited, though they all don't really know what I'm doing. So far, I had only one real partner and I haven't from them since…"

She trailed off before narrowing her eyes at the boy. "…You got me monologuing again. You mischievous little bastard."

"What can I say?" Eddy shrugged, feeling smug about the trick. "I was curious. Haven't really heard much on your side of the story yet, so why not try and see what I can get."

"You could just ask. It's not like I'm trying to bar any information from you." Bloodgood, shooed him away, rolling her eyes fondly as she did so. "And if you must know, I do plan on hiring a few people to get things under control here. Can't rely on you three all the time."

"Good," There was palpable relief at that news, shoulders becoming less squared at the confirmation. "I think we're doing great, but that doesn't mean help ain't appreciated."

"It's just a matter of sorting through candidates, honestly." She shrugged. "I'd suggest getting back into your latest scheme. Remember, play nice."

"Yeah, yeah, mom, I'll get to work." Eddy rolled his eyes. He almost didn't notice the weird look she gave him. "What?"

The stare off went on between the two before Eddy suddenly realized what he said. He didn't add anymore to the conversation before teleporting himself out of there with his magic.

Bloodgood sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, eyes closed. "Those kids are going to kill me at some point. I just know it."

* * *

"Sorry about nearly stabbing you with a button, Dexter." Double D laughed nervously as he helped clean up the wound on the boy's chest. "Things have gotten really hectic with this election and Maddie's getting a little excitable."

"Yeah, she's really gotten into the spirit of it." Raven was gathering up the medical supplies and handing them off the boy while he did the cleaning. "I don't think she's stopped with the campaigning ever since you brought it up. I'm starting to wonder if she should take a break."

"It's alright. I mean, I highly doubt you'd do that on purpose, Maddie." Dexter tried to comfort the pink girl as she sat next to them. Her worried expression didn't lessen in the slightest. "I can understand why you're excited. Seems like you're getting a lot of traction."

"He's right, weirdly enough. Can't believe I'm saying this, but we're pretty much on par with Apple at this point." Cerise refreshed the poll numbers again on her MirrorPad, watching them closely. "Wasn't really expecting it, but it looks like we might at least make it a stalemate. Not sure if that's a good thing though."

"Rebels have been congratulating me all day, but I don't think any Royals are happy about this." Maddie did look nervous, swinging her legs up from the chair she was sitting on. "I haven't heard from Apple either since we started and I'm starting to get a little worried."

"She's not mad, if that's what you're wondering." Raven went over to her friend and gave her a brief hug. "I'm not going to say she was happy about this, but she's certainly not mad. She gets it… for the most part."

"I hope that behavior continues if we happen to win this." Double D felt a pang of guilt for doing any of this, especially since it was initially behind her back. "But considering this wipes out any competition, at least it's a surefire win preventing anyone unpredictable take the seat."

"Never thought I would see the day when I'm not the unpredictable one." Maddie giggled at this, beginning to forget what brought them all here in the first place. "I glad she understands why we're doing this, though. I'm kind of surprised that everyone's voting for me though. People usually don't like Wonderlandian's in power."

"Why's that? You seem like you'd do a good job." Dexter shrugged, wincing as some disinfectant was applied to the wound.

"Ha, you'd think." The surprisingly bitter tone from the Wonderlandian caused everyone to pause. Everyone looked at the pink girl in concern, causing her to wilt under the sudden attention. "Sorry, was that too dark?"

"A little." Cerise more stoic façade changed, putting down the MirrorPad gently. "Something you want to share with the class?"

"It's not a big deal." Maddie waved it off, nervously twirling her curly hair. "It's nothing important, let's just get on with our day. Hey, Raven, what are they having you do in your villain classes lately? Did Eddy blow something up today?"

"Maddie," Double D's gentle voice caused her to wilt again, forcing her to look at him. The worry was visible in his eyes, causing her to feel guilty. "Is something wrong?"

There was a moment of silence before Raven let out a sigh. She bumped Double D out of Dexter's way, taking over for healing him. She ignored the Charming's blush. "I'd tell them if I were you, Maddie. I don't think you can do any shenanigans to get out of this one."

"You underestimate me!" Maddie pointed at the sorceress before sighing herself, bringing her knees to her chest. "It's complicated. I'm not sure if there's a good way to say it."

"Try us. We've dealt with some heavy stuff before and it'll be good for you." Cerise got up and moved to sit next to Maddie. The hooded girl casually moved her arm around the other girl and gave her a squeeze. "We'll be able to listen, at least."

"Yes, and we have talked extensively about our own problems before. Consider it payback for listening to us when we needed it." Double D leaned against a wall in front of the two, doing his best to not be suffocating. "We're here to help. That's why we're doing half of the things we've been doing."

Maddie looked around carefully at everyone in attendance, not entirely sure if she should continue. She eventually relented, moving her legs down in a more casual position. "I've already told you how I had to leave Wonderland due to certain circumstances, correct?"

"My mom cursed Wonderland after she couldn't get it for herself. Don't censor it, it's a disservice to everyone here." Raven cut in. It would've sounded harsh to the outside observer, but it was true.

"Yes, that is true." Maddie nodded, twirling her hair once again. "I suppose it isn't hard to compare my situation to one of a refugee; in fact, that's exactly what I am in many respects. I don't exactly have a way home, and even if I did, it might be destroyed. Not a happy situation, but it's one where you have to make do.

"Despite what you might think, the whole status as refugee does not exactly carry any sympathy among people around here." The hatter sighed, leaning further into Cerise's embrace. "It seems to be a constant here and in the human world; people are sympathetic to the refugees until they're expected to help. Coming from Wonderland also has a few stigma's that tend to follow wherever you go."

"I'm guessing the whole 'being mad' thing is frowned upon?" Double D sighed at the nod he received from the pinkette. "Fantastical stereotypes. And just when I start to think they don't apply."

"You should hear the things people call fairies and the Fae. They're not exactly popular around here due to the so called 'mysticism' around them." Cerise rolled her eyes. "A few bad stories come out about them stealing names or doing something weird and they're suddenly considered one of the more sinister groups in the magical forest."

"It's a sad sight sometimes. I've been to a few and they usually welcome me because they're that desperate for attention." Raven finished up the rest of the patching up, motioning for Maddie to continue.

"I suppose it is a similar situation, isn't it?" Maddie laughed. It wasn't really funny to her, but it felt like the appropriate reaction. "It certainly has its similarities when it comes to effects. Did you know how long it took for my father to get a job here in Ever After? Much less one that would take him for long enough so he could eventually rent a place for the tea shoppe. The business has only been open for about three years now because of it.

"My father was a determined man, though." It was a fond tone she used, thinking about the past. Even if it wasn't a great one. "Unfortunately, it took a lot longer than it should've. If people didn't mind half as much hiring someone 'mad,' then he would've gotten it open much sooner. I guess that's why I thought the same thing would happen here. Nobody wants someone 'mad' as their president."

"Well, I'd say that's a lot of bullhockey." Cerise squeezed Maddie once again, surprising the pinkette. She let go and got up from the little table. "Besides, the online polls don't lie. Even if you don't win, it's probably because people don't want to change from Apple."

"See? I'm not the only person who thinks that." Raven booped her friend on the nose, sticking her tongue out at her. "It's gonna be alright. Besides, if anything, people will respect the fact you tried to do this. I'm certainly rooting for you."

Maddie smiled at that, but a part of her still wasn't convinced. She looked down and swung her legs from her position. Raven took Dexter out of the room so he could get on with the rest of his day, while Cerise checked the poll numbers once again.

Double D was the only one to notice Maddie's dour mood, getting away from his position on the wall. He looked around before moving to stand in front of her, crouching.

"Everything'll be fine, okay? I don't want to hear you saying anything bad about yourself for the rest of the day." He smiled reassuringly, extending his hand. "If you stop putting yourself down, I'll make sure to help you at the tea shoppe later. We have a deal?"

She looked up at him, blinking for a second before giggling. She took his hand and shook it, shaking her head. "Deal."

"You know, you two could stop flirting. Not all of us can deal with the tension here."

The two jumped at that and looked toward Cerise, who was grinning wolfishly at them. Double D sent a glare, crossing his arms at the hooded girl. "What, would you prefer if we flirted with you then."

"What?" Cerise straightened up at that, blushing at the insinuation. "I don't- what are you talking about?"

Unbeknownst to her, Maddie had somehow sidle up right next her, elbows on the table head on her hands. When the hooded girl eventually turned towards her, she grinned widely, running hand down the other girl's arm.

"Oh, Cerise~."

This caused said girl to suddenly scoot her chair back, face matching the color of her hood. She was sputtering as she did, up until she backed into Double D, who had somehow moved behind her. Cerise looked up at him, only to see a smile on his own.

"Oh, Cerise~." He said it in the same exact tone, causing her to panic even more. She got up from the chair quickly, moving between the two.

"Don't do that!" Cerise's face was still a dark red. She pointed at the two, embarrassment clear in her tone. "Seriously, don't scare me like that! What if other people were here?! They'd definitely get the wrong idea."

Before she could get a response from the two, her MirrorPhone rang out. Tirade interrupted, she quickly got it out in hopes that the conversation would be interrupted.

"Hey Clawdeen," She said, putting the phone on speaker to prevent the two from trying anything. "What's up? I thought you were at fearleading practice."

"_I am." _Came the werewolf's reply. Some distant cheering could be heard in the background. _"Just calling to say something real quick."_

"Yeah?" Cerise couldn't help but feel dread for some reason. "What is it?"

"_Oh, Cerise~."_

Cerise Hood's flustered scream could be heard across campus.

* * *

Clawdeen hung up the phone, smiling to herself as she heard the frustrated yell from the other side of the phone. She almost didn't notice Ed, Cleo, and Ghoulia walk up to her, the materials from fearleading practice in hand.

"What's so funny?" Ed asked casually, balancing several boxes on top of each other. "Or did you get some good news?"

"Nah, I got a text from Maddie telling me to mess with Cerise." She put the iCoffin away, turning towards the other carefully. "So, as happy as I am that we aren't doing killing ourselves doing every event for the school, what's the game plan here? Anything big?"

"I figured, after some _critiques_ from those two," Cleo pointed at Ed and Ghoulia, frowning slightly. "That maybe going after quantity would be detrimental in the long run. That's why we're going to be aiming for quality instead."

"_There's a big game coming up that will require our services. Not unusual, except for one particular detail."_ Ghoulia brought out her iCoffin, showing an email that she received earlier that day. _"We'll be filming our practice. There's a contest going on at Gloom Beach where not only could we win some time at their training camp, but accolades as well."_

"So, a small vacation at a beach and maybe a trophy? Doesn't sound like a bad deal." Ed chuckled for a moment before turning serious. "What's the catch?"

"It's extremely exclusive and there are several requirements in place for a fearleading team to actually make it there." Cleo started counting them down on her manicured fingers. "You either have to be sponsored to join by a previous winner, have a certain number of awards over a set amount of time, or happen to have a following online."

"I'm guessing we don't have any of those." The werewolf grimaced at the thought. She thought their team was actually doing pretty well, all considering. "Haven't we won plenty of awards? I mean, nothing from Nefera's time really applies to us, but I think we've been a pretty good team."

"_Yes, we have, but not enough to actually qualify. Usually, the program focuses on teams made up of seniors that have been doing their routines for years."_ Ghoulia put her iCoffin away, frowning heavily. _"And I highly doubt Nefera would give us a sponsorship. Would probably find a way to sabotage our entrance somehow if she heard about it."_

"I'm guessing we're going with the third option then?" Ed received a nod from Ghoulia, causing him to smile proudly. "Cool. Guess that's when we'll need the camera equipment too."

"_Preferably. We'll need special permissions, but that shouldn't take long depending on the equipment needed."_ Ghoulia looked around the area first, voice getting lower. _"The only thing we need to watch out for is the werecats. They've been quiet these past few days, right Ed?"_

"I haven't heard anything. They kinda stopped messing with the posters after we talked last time and things have gotten pretty quiet on the internet." The boy shrugged, moving the boxes to the side for now. "You think they gave up already?"

"Unlikely. Toralei is a very stubborn and cunning girl and wouldn't stop unless it was literally impossible." Cleo sighed, fixing up her outfit. "With things as they are, we'll just have to make sure she doesn't try to sabotage our chances."

"That's going to be a nightmare. Remember when that one idiot tried sneaking into the locker room to take some pictures of us and she caught them?" Clawdeen shivered. "I'm pretty sure his life is ruined at this point. Really wish she stayed on, though. It's nice to have that kind of threatening power on your side."

Ed looked between the three with a raised eyebrow. "Should I act like a bodyguard for you girls? Make sure that doesn't happen?"

"The gesture's appreciated, but not needed. Casketball players usually keep an eye out enough as it is, and my brother is willing to maul anyone he thinks is getting too close." The werewolf shrugged. "Not to mention Toralei practically made sure anyone else with any ideas wouldn't try to repeat it. Ever."

"_We'll call you up if we need some backup, though. Plenty of creeps out there."_ Ghoulia tugged on Cleo's sleeve to get her friends attention. _"Speaking of which, do you plan on speaking with the cheer hexers later? They might be good for a few pointers or routine ideas."_

"Holly gave me her number. I might actually use it if I feel like I need some new ideas." The mummy checked her phone, squinting as she went through the contacts. "Yep, she's in there. Maybe we could get some touch ups at her salon too before the game. It's been a hot minute since I styled my hair up."

"Oh, you think they'd be able to give me highlights or something? I've been meaning to try it out but haven't had the time." Clawdeen twirled her hair a little. "Might try it out a little before the game, though. God knows I grow hair way too fast."

The mummy and werewolf continued chatting as the zombie and disguised human watched. Ghoulia elbowed Ed, giving him a smile as he turned his attention to her.

"_It's good to see them talking without biting each other's heads off. I don't think things are fully okay by now, but there's progress at least."_ The fondness in her voice was palpable, despite it being in zombie speak. _"Seems like this whole thing with you and your friends have been a good influence on them."_

"I wouldn't put that all on us. I mean, they would've made up eventually, help or not." Ed shrugged, trying to act modest about it. "Besides, all I've been doing is helping you guys out with moving stuff. Maybe some security work, but not much else."

"_I wouldn't say that. You have been a big help other than those roles. Not to mention helping them focus on a mutual goal that ultimately helps everyone."_ The zombie shrugged. _"I suppose things would've ended up getting better in the long run, but you've certainly sped things up. I'd guess that you have some personal experience because of it."_

"You don't know the half of it." The human chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Double D and Eddy have had some pretty bad fights, especially when we were kids. Heck, the first time we ran away from home, me and Eddy pulled a pretty bad prank on Double D. After we stopped, those two punched each other and almost broke up the party then and there."

"_What made the two make up?"_

Ed shrugged. "I don't really know. I wasn't really a smart kid back then and I haven't really gotten any smarter since. I think we didn't want to stop being friends because we were the only people that actually cared about each other. Without each other, we'd be alone. Maybe we knew that back then and didn't want to feel alone."

Ghoulia was silent for a few moments, digesting what he'd said. After a moment of companionable silence, she spoke up. _"I think I know what you mean."_

"…How?" Ed raised an eyebrow, ready to listen.

"_I wasn't exactly the most social child growing up. Being a zombie limits how many people understand you and how many people are willing to try. After so many rejections, it just became easier to be by myself."_ The zombie girl shrugged. It wasn't exactly sad to her, but she knew it wasn't a normal way to grow up. _"It certainly gave me more time to work on my hobbies and study for school, though. I'm pretty sure I've always been one of the top students at every school I've ever gone to. Which, again, doesn't curry any favors from others."_

"What changed? I mean, it seems like you got a lot of friends now. Including me!" He added it as an afterthought, if only to make sure she understood that he _is_ her friend.

She chuckled, getting the hint easily. _"I met Cleo back in middle school. She'd just been unearthed and her family had moved into New Salem to settle down and understand the world around them. She needed someone smart on her side and eventually found me."_ Ghoulia looked over at the two other Monsters, whose conversation was still going on amicably. _"We became friends if only because we were the only people without them. Clawdeen joined us eventually and we were friends until… well, y'know."_

"Yeah," Ed laughed a little, leading into a small awkward silence. He eventually patted her shoulder in a wordless show of support. "I'm sorry you had to see your friends fight for so long. I know it feels like everything is falling apart and that things won't be the same, but it will be. Eventually."

Ghoulia let out a sigh at that, relaxing a little at the reassurance. _"Eventually."_ She stared at the two monsters with nostalgia before turning. _"Come on. Let's get everything into storage. We got a routine to plan for."_

"You got it." Ed picked up the boxes quietly and helped Ghoulia move it to the storage lockers without a single word.

* * *

Apple was amazing under pressure. Admittedly, she would prefer things to go smoothly and without interruption, but that didn't mean she couldn't take anything that was thrown at her. If anything, she was surprisingly resilient for someone her age.

Though, if she were honest with herself, it really could be a lot sometimes. Princess responsibilities, acing her classes, and generally keeping up a social life was a lot to ask of one person. She would never complain, but that didn't mean it wasn't causing her to tire. The Royal v. Rebel conflict didn't help matters.

So, really, the election situation shouldn't feel like another brick on the foundation. But it did for some reason.

Looking down at the poll numbers, watching as things began to settle down into an almost 50/50 chance of her winning, Apple felt a familiar feeling in her chest; anxiety. It had become a close friend lately and one she was hoping to part with soon. Maddie possibly becoming the next president made sure that it stayed with her, though, and she honestly hoped that maybe the girl would reconsider.

Apple certainly wasn't angry about the declaration. It made complete sense that the Royals would want more of themselves in student government. She was admittedly thrown off by it, but as the others did point out this eliminated possible competition from someone outside of their group. So really, she shouldn't have anything to worry about. The seat was still under competent control no matter who won the election.

…That didn't really stop her from worrying though. She really didn't know why that was. It was a risky, if fulfilling, political move that would either keep things at the stalemate or make things more balanced. Nobody else was rising to the plate of class president and that made this a win no matter the situation.

Why couldn't she let this go?

A sudden ring from her MirrorPhone startled her, causing her heart to race. She picked it up frantically, accepting it without looking.

"Hello, this is Apple White speaking." The sweet tone was put on immediately, despite the anxiety she felt. "May I ask whose calling?"

"_Apple dear! How are you?"_

Oh no, it was her mother.

"Mom?" Apple straightened up in her seat, almost like the woman was in the room with her. "Everything's going great! I'm surprised to hear from you."

"_Oh, I know, sorry to surprise you dear! I just got out of surgery and I'm not allowed to drive, so I figured I'd check up on you." _There was some shifting from the inside of the car. _"And before you ask, it was just another Botox treatment. Nothing major, but they insisted I don't drive this time until some swelling went down."_

"That's good to hear. I suppose it's been a little bit since the last one." Apple highly doubted her mother had called to just check up on her. If that was the case, she would've done so more often. "Are you sure that's why you're calling? Don't get me wrong, nothing's happening, and I appreciate it but-"

"_Oh, I suppose I couldn't get anything past you. Always such a smart girl!"_ The princess sighed on the inside, waiting for whatever it was her mother wanted felt like talking about. _"I've just been hearing some things about some nonsense involving 'Royals and Rebels' or something. Also, that your reelection is coming up!"_

Apple suspected that Grimm had updated her on some things. A little late, but her mother was a busy woman. "Oh, that's nothing. Everything's under control on my end." The blonde laughed as if to prove the point, almost physically waving it off. "There's just been a few disagreements around here and I've been working hard to settle them. Not to mention a few side projects I'm a part of."

"_Well, that's good to hear! I was almost worried when I heard that Evil Queen's daughter didn't want to sign the book. I knew I shouldn't have listened to those rumors."_ Another laugh from her mother's end caused Apple to relax a little. That release of tension didn't last, however. _"Though, dearest?"_

"Yes mother?" Her mother's tone had lilted into a dangerous territory once again. She always heard it once a business deal started to turn sour.

"_If that Raven Queen is having some thoughts about abandoning her destiny, make sure she realizes the consequences. Trust me, she'll realize which side of history is right in time."_ Snow White chuckled. It sounded as cold as her namesake, the way it trickled past her lips. _"And remember, dearest…"_

"A princess must always be perfect." Apple felt tired all of a sudden, rubbing at burning eyes quickly. "Look, mother, I appreciate the call, but I do have some work to do. Things to do, people to see, you know how it is."

"_Oh, I know that feeling."_ Snow sighed deeply. Her cheery voice returned during her goodbye. _"Well, don't let me keep you! Ta-ta, dearest~."_

Apple hung up the phone as soon as she could. She rubbed her eyes some more, making sure they stopped burning, making sure her mascara wasn't ruined.

Her heart fluttered with nerves once again and she didn't understand why.

* * *

**Two things I've thought of if they ever reboot and up the rating of Ever After High:**

**1\. Maddie and the other Wonderlandian's would probably be considered refugees due to what the Evil Queen did to their home.**

**2\. Apple is the kid that has very high expectations put on her and has stress that's let out negatively on others, whether she means it or not.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I have some more playlists for you guys based on the girls this time! I think it might be becoming a problem at this point, but hopefully you guys take some enjoyment out of it. As always, they have some importance to character and how the fanfic might change in the future!**

**Apple: playlist/5oJbPMOqze4sqdBaMgnprD**

**Raven: playlist/5c4vsgvP4iyvOs3rGM0YT3**

**Maddie: playlist/3j0ac8lVS2CJavSIbvV0Wq**

**Cerise: playlist/2M8JImw6o5mTTz9tOmnaYX**

**Cleo: playlist/7KwunrZHoPFhtr4AhQnoPC**

**Clawdeen: playlist/37WwrwqmUvbAiCG3FbWacr**

**Ghoulia: playlist/2wxoqsDElaAGogNu6cQ6Wd**


	19. Logical Conclusions

**Well, this was a long time coming. Things are ending for some old conflicts here, but some more will come up after this. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter and make sure to comment on how you feel about it after!**

* * *

For once in the Ed's lives, they were actually getting a break from some of their demanding issues and were allowed to work on some of their projects. Or, at the very least, they were allowed to plan for some of them.

It was a quiet day in the workshop, except for the occasional pop of an explosion, or the tools moving together. It was eventually broken by Double D, who sighed after looking over his current designs.

"If I have to look at design paper for even longer, I'm sure I'm going to dream about it tonight." He turned towards his compatriots, capping a pen. "Anything you've got done on your end, Eddy?"

"Nothing much. I actually think I got something, though." Eddy lifted a strange looking bracelet up, looking it over briefly. "Not sure if it'll work right, though. Stupid thing keeps malfunctioning."

"What even is that?" Ed wiped off some residue off of his hands, watching as their leader messed around with the invention. He frowned at the cursed gem lying inside of it. "Is that something to power up your magic?"

"More to make sure I actually have magic when I don't have the suit." He motioned towards his back, shrugging. "If our friends in the fearleading team actually secure us a beach episode, then I won't be able to do any magic. And since that might get us in trouble, I figured that having a backup would be important."

"That is good thinking. Better to have it in case you can't wear the suit under your clothing. I suppose you can't really use it if you need a good amount of power, though." Double D looked at the bracelets appreciatively. He gave a shrug of his own. "At least you have some physical proof of your work. I've had a host of ideas I've been stewing over, but I have no idea where to begin. Most of what I'm thinking of is only rooted in theory."

The other two look over the notes. Ed seems pretty impressed. "Seems like a bunch of stuff from comic books. Wait, isn't a lot of this stuff from the Marvel movies?"

"It is your fault that you turned me on to them, Ed." He went over them, squinting at them. "Some of them wouldn't exactly be possible now, but I feel like they'd be fun. At the very least, they'd certainly be useful if any additions to my octo-arms start becoming too complicated."

"I'd certainly stick with some of the cooler ones." Eddy added flippantly. He traced over a few in particular, tilting his head to the side. "Some of these certainly look cool in action."

Double D shrugged. He looked over at Ed, raising an eyebrow. "Anything you're working on, Ed?"

"Just some stuff for my monster form. I kinda wonder if maybe we should add some more stuff to that while we can. I mean, everybody thinks I'm a monster, but they don't really know what kind of monster, and we could do a lot with that." He blinks as the other two look at him strangely. "What? Isn't adapting it a good thing?"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure you're going to give people nightmares at this point. I mean, imagine if the cul-de-sac kids saw any of that." Eddy adopted a grin, which only turned more sinister the more he thought about it. "Then again, I think me having magic would scare them even more."

"If you do add anything else, I'd suggest it's something easily translatable to your human form. An inconsistency could throw some things off." Double D got a curious look on his face. "Or we could just write it off depending on the context. Just something to think about."

"We're going to be really overpowered before we're done here, aren't we?" Eddy received only nods at the declaration. He laughed at it openly. "Jeez, if anyone at home could see us now."

The room got silent after that, though it was only a little bit comforting. The stress had been floating over them the entire time and it was nice to simply get back to old habits. They clearly needed to talk about something, though.

It was Ed that decided to jump into the subject first.

"I'm scared about today." Frank and straight to the point, it knocked them out of their momentary lapse. "It's a pretty big game their cheering for and they really don't want to mess anything up. They need to get this right with the due date for Gloom Beach invitations coming up and it's really eating at them."

"The election isn't going any better. We're still perfectly split on the line between Apple and Maddie, which while a good thing, is still stressful." Double D tapped his foot against the floor, looking off towards Ever After High's direction. "It's gotten to be an emotional election on Maddie's part and we're wondering what'll happen if this ends in a draw or loss. Nothing good, I guess."

"Not to complain, but that whole thing is actually starting to fire things up on both sides. Princess, as far as I can tell, is stressed as all hell and Raven's not doing to hot either." A flare of magic showed Eddy's irritation. He didn't even think about, the action becoming second nature. "I've had to shut down a few things in the past few days. I also think someone's going around and actually trying to start stuff while I'm not looking."

The Ed's sighed, feeling the pressure ease at the admissions. It has been a stressful few weeks and they knew that would pile up on them as things progressed. Double D had been trying to hold back on meddling too much himself but getting involved with an election campaign didn't exactly mean he was relaxed.

"I'm sure everything's going to be fine." Eddy threw it out there, though he did mean it. "I mean, Queenie has to know something about what she's doing, and the other fearleaders are pretty good. The whole election thing won't really matter in the end, anyway. It's just student government."

"I'd say it matters since Rebels are wanting more representation in said student government." Double D started, though stopped and sighed. "Though, you have a point. The end result does end with a friend in charge, it's mainly just the school's reaction we need to worry about."

"And the fearleaders are awesome at what they do." Ed shrugged, a smile moving onto his face. "I thought I'd have to actually join as a male member for a while. I would've done it, no questions, but I don't think I would've been on top of the pyramid."

"You would join." Eddy chuckled. "Remember back when we were in middle school and the cheer squad got you off the football team to make you the mascot? At least if you had to join, you'd have some experience."

"Dear lord, that feels like such a long time ago. We really were just rowdy children, weren't we?" Double D practically giggled, the hatted Ed boy remembering some of their shenanigans. "I suppose that hasn't changed, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah." Eddy reached out and clapped Ed on the back. "Don't worry about Queenie and the fear squad too much. Like I said, if they get that invitation, we're getting a beach episode."

"You keep saying beach episode like we're living in an anime, Eddy." The smart Ed boy raised an eyebrow, looking at Eddy with a mischievous grin. "It's not like we actually are. I mean, some strange things happening to us aside."

"I think he has a point there. I mean, we do have a lot of things going for us." Ed raised his fingers, counting the many red flags he thought up of. "We're kind of like an Isekai since we're in a magical world now. We're funny, even though people around here think we have mysterious backstories. The author actually based this story off an anime's premise."

"We're getting' into some serious business with the world around us. We've got a lot more friends than we did back in Peach Creek." The short Ed boy joined in, going back to working on the bracelets. "A lot of emotional moments with our co-stars. And, I repeat, a beach episode."

Double D tried to rebuke those statements before beginning to think about it. He opened his mouth and closed it several times before his expression turned to horror. "Dear lord, we're in an anime plot. Our lives are anime."

Ed rubbed Double D's shoulder, smiling comfortingly. "Don't worry, Double D! Anime's are usually awesome! We just have to decide what kind of anime we're in."

"Yeah." Eddy scoffed, brushing off the weird statement with ease. "I just hope we aren't in one of those "subversive" ones. Those end up with people dead."

Double D wasn't comforted by this in the slightest.

* * *

It was later in the day when things started to kick off.

The assembly hall for student government was surprisingly large, housing a variety of students as they shuffled in the seats. Eddy and Double D stood near the back part of the room, closest to the main podium. The watched as everyone assembled, moving into every empty space.

"Jeez, I actually didn't expect this many people to show up." Eddy whistled appreciatively, the amount of people genuinely impressing him. "Guess everyone else here is actually excited about this."

"It is a pit of nerves for everyone else here. They see it as another step in the Royal/Rebel conflict, of course they're interested in seeing how it plays out." Double D looked over at Cerise and Raven, who walked out from one side of the stage. "How's Maddie? Is everything alright in there?"

"She's coping. She's been drinking more tea, though, and that's usually never a good sign." Raven moved to stand beside Eddy, easing herself next to the fake sorcerer. "I mean, she always drinks tea, but you can usually tell what her mood is based on what she's drinking."

"Maddie's been drinking a lot of peppermint tea. I don't know much about it, but I do know that's for stress." Cerise stood by Double D, adjusting her hood as if to hide from the assembly of students. "She's got a good poker face; I have to admit. You wouldn't be able to tell she's stressed about all of this if you didn't know her."

"I guess the other big question is what Princess is doing while all of this is going down." Eddy's eyes twitched to one side of the stage, the one where Apple was meant to appear. "She's been pretty quiet lately. I've tried talking to her, but she keeps saying that she's busy or something."

"As her roommate, I haven't been getting squat." Raven twirled her hair nervously, biting the bottom part of her lip. "On one hand, she's been letting up on the destiny thing lately. On the other, she's been way too quiet. Getting a lot of calls from her mom too."

Double D frowned. "Have you met her at any time before this? Just out of curiosity." At the shake of Raven's head, his expression turned. "Well, hopefully it's words of encouragement. I certainly hope she isn't piling more responsibility onto her shoulders."

"My mom used to room with Raven's mom, meaning she got to deal with Snow White a lot." Cerise leaned in conspiratorially. "From what she tells me, she was just as intense as Apple is now. Something tells me that hasn't changed in the slightest."

"Great, an overbearing mother. Just what we need in our pile of traumata's." Eddy saw the blonde hair and red dress first, shushing everyone. "Hey Princess. You look a little more cheerful then yesterday. Anything special happen?"

"Nothing really. I'm just waiting for the results." Apple shrugged, holding onto a stack of papers. Shifting them around, she looked at them somewhat morosely. "Win or lose, I don't think I'll like how this ends. I'll either lose or more riots start going throughout the school."

"I won't like it either, but I've made my piece with it." Maddie strolled on out as well. To anyone that was close enough to her physically, they would've smelled peppermint coming off her in waves. She extended her hand to Apple, smiling. "May the best candidate win. At least someone qualified will be able to get into the seat no matter what."

Apple grabbed the other girl's hand, smiling graciously. "At least there's that. I really hope this doesn't end any more chaotic then it already is."

"Hey," Cerise pointed to the front of the room. One of the people in charge of the counting came up, shuffling papers of their own. "Looks like we're about to kick it off."

"For both of you." Raven sighed, hanging back even more. She was hiding from the crowd herself.

The two made their way to their respective podiums, cheering and booing following behind them. Maddie seemingly took it in stride, though Apple did have a minor break, surprise showing through. It was wiped away as soon as it was present, though.

The announcer cleared their throat into the microphone, effectively silencing the crowd. Messing with his glasses, brought the papers up to his face.

"I'm glad to see everyone here today." A smile moved onto his face, though it was mostly fake judging from its strained quality. "I can easily say that many things about this election have made it particularly unusual. Not to mention tense."

"Why does that make me think he's about to deliver bad news?" Raven whispered to the others. The wording was throwing her off and she sincerely didn't like it.

"It honestly makes the results all that stranger." This caught everyone's attention as he pulled out a scroll. Numbers were on it, as far as the others in the back could see, but they couldn't see the exact results. "I'd say that, for the first time in the school's history, we're at an absolute tie."

There was a moment of silence before it turned into a loud chatter, to loud _arguing._

"Great." Cerise had a hand over her face, sighing deeply. "We just needed one to win. One. Now we got a tie instead, meaning we'll have to deal with another election."

"Not if I have any say in it." Apple motioned for Eddy to come up. "Eddy, can you silence everyone here? I need to make a statement."

The short Ed boy tilted his head in confusion, but only nodded. He snapped his fingers, this time going for a flash that blinded everyone in the auditorium for a few seconds. The yelling was replaced by shouts of surprise and even groans from people whose eyes had yet to adjust to the light.

Eddy put two fingers up to his throat, magically enhancing his voice. "Would all of ya'll just shut up for five seconds?!" The shouts cut down further protests, not wanting any further assaults on their senses. He stepped back, waving lazily at Apple. "You're up, Princess. Dazzle 'em."

Apple adjusted the microphone, clearing her throat gracefully. "I can't say that I was expecting any of this to happen, but it has. There's nothing that can be done to reverse this." She looked at the crowd, making sure all their attention was on her. "But I see an opportunity here. Since it seems you all want both of us as president, maybe it's time for a change in leadership."

Apple turns to Maddie, extending a hand. "Madeline Hatter, do you want to be co-presidents for this school year?"

Maddie openly blinked at the proposition before thinking it over. "What a mad idea." She then smiled giddily, grabbing Apple's hand, and shaking it quickly. "I'm in if you are."

This brought the crowds mood back up considerably, many of them cheering at the idea. The two presidents bowed before the crowd before heading backstage to meet up with their peers.

"Okay, I'll admit," Eddy nodded appreciatively in Apple's direction. "That wasn't a bad save. I thought I was going to have to light some things on fire before they calmed down."

"And thankfully we didn't have to resort to that." Double D sighed in relief. He was wondering if he'd have to restrain a few people. "It seems like we've been able to keep some form of balance in the school again."

"For now, at least." Cerise grabbed Maddie's hand and gave it a small squeeze before letting go. "Good job out there. Figured you had a good chance to win. Least you won't be doing all the presidential stuff by yourself."

"I appreciate it. I'm just glad we don't have to do anymore campaigning. Dexter wouldn't survive another button attack." Maddie laughed at that, everyone else chuckling along with her. "Though I am going to rely on our more experienced Madame President here."

"I'll do as much I can. It'll be nice to actually have some responsibilities shared between us." Apple was winding down from the insanity outside. She looked to Raven, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry if I'm distant lately. Things have been stressful, and I've been doing my best to deal with it on my own."

"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad this ended with as little infighting as possible." A ding could be heard from someone phone, causing everyone to turn towards Double D. "Something to share with the class?"

Double D pulled out the iCoffin, looking over the message. His eyes widened and he put it away quickly, moving from his relaxed position. "The game is starting soon and the fearleaders are going to do their routine. Clawdeen's calling us up just in case we want to show."

"Well, let's go! Might as well have something fun to do after this freakshow of an election." Eddy jumped up, already heading towards the door. "Last one there is paying for concessions!"

Everyone else followed suit shortly after, all of them not wanting to pay.

* * *

It was a pretty tense atmosphere within the gym. Monster High was going up against a tough opponent today, with many of the casketball players tensing up for an intense match.

Ed almost felt sorry that he wasn't worried about any of that. He was more or less just focusing on getting the girls ready for their routine.

"Hey, Ghoulia?" He looked over the list of items, checking things off. "You sure this is all we need? It sounds good, but…"

"_It should be fine. Besides, just because we have a thing to do here doesn't mean we can exactly overshadow the casketball team." _Ghoulia took one last swig from her water bottle, putting it aside as she finished checking things out. _"Plus, remember, it's still a cheering routine. Not many props are actually needed outside of it."_

"I'd add some if Bloodgood would let me." Cleo looked over in the wings, noticing some very surprising guests. "Everyone else showed up? I thought they'd be busy with the election."

"Apparently it ended in a tie and now Maddie and Apple work together." Clawdeen waved at the group, a small pang of anger when she saw how other Monsters were distancing themselves from the assortment of Legends. "Hopefully, they don't feel put out. I think they were looking forward to this."

"_I think Eddy's alright. Doesn't seem like he puts much stock into what others think of him."_ Ghoulia looked over at Double D and the rest. _"They just might be a little intimidated by Double D. Not so sure about the others, however."_

"They'll be fine." Cleo waved off the concern, the mummy shrugging at the cold nature of her fellow students. "If they say anything derogatory, they'll learn exactly who they're messing with. And by that, I mean me."

"Gee, nice to know that you care." Clawdeen laughed. She moved over the rest of the troupe, if only to make sure Frankie, Lagoona, and Draculaura memorized the routine. "I'm just hoping this turns out right."

"Knock them dead! Break a leg, but not really!" He looked over at Cleo as she walked past, smiling. "Good luck out there."

"I don't need luck." The mummy flicked her hair, moving towards the rest of the troupe. "This is all going to be down to skill, and I'm the best there is."

"Is nearly falling on your face after doing a flip your best then?!"

As Cleo responded to Clawdeen's insult, Ghoulia moved up beside Ed, taking her place next to him. She watched them go with a raised eyebrow.

"_It seems like some tensions are being lessened. Been a while since they had bickered like this."_ The zombie sighed deeply, though it was a content one. _"I guess competition is one thing that'll unite anyone. Well, unless it's against each other."_

"Yeah. Like gravy and butter on toast." It wasn't one of the weirder things he could've said, so Ghoulia let it slide. "You think this video contest thing will work out?"

"_To quote a cliché, if my calculations are correct," _She brought out her iCoffin, showing some complex equations. _"If the video's posted at the right time, with the right keywords that play to FrightTube's algorithm, then we should have no problem. I can't predict everything, but as long as they do their part, we should have this done quite easily."_

"I understand literally none of the equations on there, but I believe you." Ed did his best to blink the equations out of his memory before they could do lasting damage to his brain. "Then everything relies on the fearleaders today?"

"_Yep." _Ghoulia looked over to see Frankie drop one of her hands, which she hastily picked up before anyone could see. _"No pressure whatsoever."_

The game was called for halftime soon enough, the players getting off the field. Ed made sure to high five Clawd and Deuce as they got off, along with keeping an eye on the rest. Manny steered clear, for obvious reasons.

The girls themselves made their way out, taking in some of the cheers from the crowd. Some, particularly Cleo and Clawdeen, did get some satisfaction hearing their other friends cheer them on too. They got into formation, standing in a straight line. A song started playing up on the loudspeaker after they finished.

[Note: Play Ava Max – Kings & Queens]

"_If all of the kings had their queens on the throne,_

_We would pop champagne and raise a toast._

_To all of the queens who are fighting alone,_

_Baby, you're not dancing on your own."_

The line moved as one, all getting behind Cleo in unison. Somehow, through the power of perspective, they seemed to disappear behind her, but before people could wonder what happened, they raised their arms, all in different positions, not getting in the way of each other. Cleo did so as well, the arms all moving in haunting unison.

The formation was broken as, in pairs, the girls cartwheeled out from behind her again.

"_Can't live without me, _

_You wanna, _

_But you can't, _

_Nah-nah-nah."_

The team split off into three groups, consisting of Clawdeen/Draculaura, Frankie/Lagoona, and Cleo by herself. The stronger member of the teams lifted up the lighter members, who stood on their hands with one foot and extending their legs above their heads. Cleo, in true extra fashion, started doing front handsprings closer to the audience.

"_Think it's funny, _

_But honey, _

_Can't run this show on your own._

_I can feel my body shake,_

_There's only so much I can take,_

_I'll show you how a real queen behaves."_

Draculaura and Lagoon suddenly flipped forward off the other fearleaders hands, landing gracefully to start front handspringing to Cleo. Reaching her quickly, they leaned down, rapidly lifting Cleo up. At the apex of the lift, Cleo was thrown into the, backflipping and landing into the waiting arms of Clawdeen and Frankie.

"_If all of the kings had their queens on the throne,_

_We would pop champagne and raise a toast._

_To all of the queens who are fighting alone,_

_Baby, you're not dancing on your own."_

The group collapsed into a single line again, this time with Draculaura and Lagoona on the farthest sides. They did back handsprings, getting behind Clawdeen and Frankie, before lifting them up much they did for them. This time was much quicker, with them flipping backwards. Cleo did the same, back handsprings ending with her flipping back and twisting in the air as she did so.

"_Disobey me, then baby, it's off with your head,_

_Gonna change it and make it a world you won't forget."_

They turned up in a single file line again, Cleo disappearing from view. They did the hand appearance routine, but this time with Cleo's arm's somehow getting closer to the front of the line. When they were done, she had appeared in front of it, switching with Draculaura.

"_Oh, no damsel in distress, don't need to save me,_

_Once I start breathing fire, you can't tame me._

_And you might think I'm weak without a sword,_

_But I'm stronger than I ever was before."_

Cartwheels and were done once more, though quicker and smoother. They all moved back each facing the audience in a V formation, before moving forward at a sudden fast pace. The farther back in the V, the slower they ran.

"_If all of the kings had their queens on the throne,_

_We would pop champagne and raise a toast._

_To all of the queens who are fighting alone,_

_Baby, you're not dancing on your own."_

A small reverb rang out, showing the song had been edited. A small, simulated explosion from the song signaled the fearleaders to finish running. Clawdeen and Frankie slid in on their knees, Draculaura sliding in and stepping onto their shoulders. Cleo was last, moving herself swiftly onto the latter two's shoulders until they were in a pyramid.

"_If all of the kings had their queens on the throne,_

_We would pop champagne and raise a toast._

_To all of the queens who are fighting alone,_

_Baby, you're not dancing on your own."_

As the final notes went out, Cleo jumped forward, flipping, and twirling before landing and doing the splits onto the gym floor. The other girls followed suit, getting into final formation as the last lyrics played out.

"_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh._

_Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh."_

A mass amount of cheering reverberated from the crowd as the fearleaders got up slowly from their routine. Each of the girls bowed before moving back into to their place before the cheer had started.

Ed leaned to Ghoulia, still clapping as he whispered to her. "Do you think that'll work."

Ghoulia smiled cheerfully as she turned off the recording, already backing it up to several different drives for editing later. _"It's perfect."_

They had this in the bag. They were sure of it.

* * *

Bloodgood, as always, remained in her office as she watched the livestream of the girl's performance. She smiled as it went perfectly, a bit of warmth lifting her metaphorical spirits as she saw how pleased they were of themselves. She almost wanted to congratulate them then and there but knew that she should wait until they got the response back from Gloom Beach's contest creators. Though, she couldn't help but feel pride all the same.

Things had progressed pretty well in the short time school has started. Bloodgood figured the gamble with the boys would pay off somewhat, but everything was going smoother then expected. The girls themselves had done plenty of work of their own, securing their own hands into stabilizing tensions in both schools. Hell, barely anyone was focused on the vampire/werewolf conflict at this time.

Of course, she did realize that this progress wouldn't continue forever. The students were still just that. She couldn't rely on them to fix every issue, nor did she want to. They had lives to live outside of that and putting it all on them to fix things would only make their effectiveness reduce in the long run.

She already went over this with Eddy. He seemed okay with the thought, so she decided to go forward with preparations.

Bloodgood looked over the information at the latest application. It was a simple, but impressive, one that showed a good amount of experience handling school matters and actually smoothing over relations between Monsters. Had not black marks on his record either, which was rare since every teacher had their bad days.

With a sigh, she moved her hand to the buzzer, pushing it. "Send in the next applicant." She said brusquely, putting the profile to the side. The interview was always the hardest part.

A tall blonde man sauntered into the room, a charming smile on his face as he sat down in the chair opposite to her. Bloodgood put on her most professional look, putting out her hand. "I'm glad you were able to make it in today. Sorry if it's a bit later then the original time, but things have been pretty busy around here."

"Not a problem." The man, otherwise known as Van Hellscream on his application, smiled wider. "I'm just glad to be here."

He paused, tilting his head to the side in a confident way she couldn't help but like. "So, where do you want to begin?"

* * *

**This little arc is coming to close soon. Or at least, it will in one sense. The next couple of chapters will be like an intermission, though expect the next arc to be a little more action packed. I'm moving on to a movie and I think some of you will have a good idea what that is.**

**Also, writing cheer routines is somehow harder then writing fight scenes. I'm not sure how that fits, but it's something I figured out while writing the last part of this.**

**Anyway, have a good day and hope to see you all in the next chapter!**


	20. Gloom Beach Intermission 1

**Alright, everyone, looks like we're back here again. This is going to be a three chapter intermission that'll serve as a way to separate the previous and next arc for now. Trust me when I say this, you'll be glad for the breather because what I got planned for the next arc is a doozy.**

**This does mean this is mostly going to be just fun and fluffy stuff, with a tiny bit of world building. I think I'll do this occasionally in order to break things up for you guys in case things get too plot heavy.**

**Either way, that aside, let's get on with the chapter!**

* * *

None of the members of their little group called the ruined castle their clubhouse or anything, but it was starting to become that to the Ed's. Since they, including their friends at Ever After, were waiting here to finally get the results for the Gloom Beach trip here, it was most likely a mutual feeling.

Ed was nervous most of all, Double D trailing behind. Since he'd been so involved with the process, he knew how devastating the blow would be if they hadn't made it. Double D himself was nervous for many of the same reasons, especially since Clawdeen had been so excited for the trip.

It's not like the others weren't sympathetic or worried about things going right either. It's just that the boy's worries were just more palpable.

That irritated Eddy to no end.

"I really don't get why you're all so worried about this. It's not like it's the end of the world if we don't get it." Eddy was trying out this magical exercise Raven had taught him in order to keep himself busy. "A trophy would be cool to get, but I'm pretty sure nobody's going to be mad if the girls don't make it in."

"It's the principal of the thing, Eddy. A lot of work is coming to fruition here, and hopefully the fruits of our labor aren't wilting." Double D paced around, anxiously tugging at his beanie. How the thing survived years of this, none of them knew. "Plus, the trophy would be good for school morale. We've made good progress distracting the werewolves and vampires from their feud, but a sense of unity by school spirit would be great."

"At least we have the elections over with. Some of the proceedings have gotten quite easier with Maddie helping me out." Apple twirled her hair cutely, keeping a wary eye on Eddy's experimentation. "I'm starting to wonder if we should've done the co-presidents thing sooner. I've been able to get some more things done with less paperwork in the way."

"Just why is there so much paperwork anyway? I can't believe there's so many forms just to do one little thing!" Maddie had taken up the role with relative ease, though she had to figure out a few realities to it that she hadn't been made aware of originally. "Wonderland may have a topsy-turvy government, but we definitely have a less complicated version than this."

"Sounds frightening. Guess bureaucracy is as evil as people say." Raven got a quick high five from Eddy for that one. She kept her eyes out to the distance, as curious as the rest. "At least this'll be a good change of pace. I don't remember the last time I've ever been to a beach."

"I have, and the answer is never." Cerise looked torn between excitement and dread. She tugged her hood rather over her head, as if to hide her face. "I don't even think I have a swimsuit. All of my family's vacations usually involved camping or something."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I mean, Ghoulia would've said something if it failed by now!" Ed saw the flash of gold in the distance, Cleo walking ahead and talking with said zombie. "They're coming up!"

Indeed, the rest of their group were arriving at their space, though it was hard to tell from their faces what exactly the result was. Cleo was normally pretty guarded in her emotions, and even if Ghoulia could emote, her default expression was mostly blank. Clawdeen herself was mostly an open book, but hers was also schooled.

This may or may not have set off alarm bells in everyone's heads.

It didn't take long for the three to settle in, still remaining silent as they did so. The lack of clear emotion was throwing everybody off, preventing them from actually clearing it up themselves. It was only after a few moments of apprehension that Cleo grabbed an envelope out of her purse, showing it to everyone.

"We're in." The mummy smirked as every single person in attendance was either sighing in relief or groaning at the faked drama.

"Okay, I'll give you that one, Queenie. You almost gave me a heart attack there." Eddy sighed. He resorted to old coin tricks in order to settle himself down. "I'm guessing people liked your video?"

"_There was a window where we thought we wouldn't make it, but we pulled through."_ Ghoulia looked through the statistics of the video they put up. _"It took some clever maneuvering on several social media sites, but we got it done."_

"Which means we all not only get to possibly win a trophy, but we get a sweet little trip out of it too!" Clawdeen looked especially excited by that. She relaxed against a tree, filing her sharp nails. "It'll be nice to get away from some of the stress around here. Plus, we get to bring you guys as guests. Which you'll have to get swimsuits for."

Cerise groaned at that. "I knew you were going to say that, and it still hurts to hear. I'm glad to go, but do I really have to wear one?"

"Aw, don't worry about it?" Maddie slapped the hooded girl on the back, nearly toppling her over. "We'll help you buy one. Clawdeen might know a place and we can even have Double D help choose too!"

"Wait, why would I have to help choose?" Double D's face was starting to turn red at the thought. "I mean, I wouldn't know. I don't even swim that much or know what to wear or-"

"Just go with it, Double D. Maddie will do everything in her power to get you to help her. Plus, most people in your position wouldn't complain." Raven frowned as well, moving back onto the tree. "I'm guessing we'll all have to buy some before we actually go. I haven't really bought any either. I'm pretty sure my mom was allergic to actual sunshine."

"We'll make a day of it, then!" Apple seemed especially excited, grabbing onto the sorceress's arm. "We can divide it into teams. Cleo, Raven, Eddy, and I will go on our own, while Double will help with Clawdeen, Maddie, and Cerise."

"What about me?" Ed scratched the back of his head, not feeling as embarrassed as the other two boys. "I don't mind helping Ghoulia, but that only leaves us two."

"_I'm sure Frankie would like some help as well. I might as well invite her."_ The zombie shrugged. She seemed only slightly embarrassed by the thought, though she was quickly adapting to it. _"Lagoona and Laura probably have something already, but Frankie hasn't had time to go to a beach just yet."_

"Wait, I get why we need to do this, but why are we all separating the guys here?" Eddy would've normally jumped at a chance like this, but none of it made sense to him. "Wouldn't we know what we should wear better than anyone else here?"

"No. Ed's shown me pictures of your van. If that's what you call stylish and cool, then we need to make sure you're separated so you can actually wear something decent." Cleo dodged a minor curse Eddy flicked her way. "Also, before you get any ideas, I'm inviting my boyfriend to help."

"That's still pretty weird." Cerise looked resigned, realizing that everybody had already planned things out. She couldn't get out of this if she tried. "Though, I only have one rule; the hood stays on. No matter what. You cannot change my mind about this."

"Can the same rule apply to my hat?" Double D looked just as resigned and even more embarrassed about the idea.

"Fine, we'll work around it." Clawdeen rolled her eyes, muttering something about hard to please customers. She moved up towards her 'chosen' group, chuckling. "We're all leaving in a couple of days, so tell your teachers and stuff. It'll be over the three-day weekend, but Bloodgood says it's best to tell them in case there's some kind of delay."

The groups nodded before they all went their separate ways. The boys themselves hung back, some more reluctant than others. Eddy looked over to Double D, raising an eyebrow.

"Like I said, Sockhead; our lives are now anime."

"Don't remind me."

* * *

Eddy figured that this situation would be a little awkward. I mean, helping out with swimsuit shopping _sounded_ like a cool idea before realizing you'd have to be honest about how it looked. Which, yeah, wasn't a problem for his loudmouth, but he couldn't be too harsh on them (except for Queenie, of course).

Somehow, this was all only amplified by the fact Deuce was here with them, as awkward as he was.

Eddy had no problems with the guy, really. Heck, they only met once and he was sure that he made an okay impression on the gorgon, but that didn't mean he actually _knew_ him that well. The sunglasses and naturally chill demeanor didn't help with that.

Which is why he was currently sketching out his current plans for his next magical device. Well, more magical item, but it was pretty much the same thing to him.

He did note the curious glances Deuce sent his way as they waited for one of the girls to get out of the changing rooms. Impassive or not, he was most likely feeling as awkward as he was.

"So," Eddy almost jumped as Deuce experimentally started the conversation. "What are you working on? Cleo said that you work on machines or something. Didn't really specify what."

"I'm a mechanic, but I work on a lot of things." Eddy twirled his pencil, looking over his notes. "This is more 'artificer' kind of stuff, though. Or enchantment. Depends on how you look at it."

"I'm not exactly familiar with any of it, but we aren't really doing anything else here." The gorgon leaned forward, looking at what he could catch. "Lay it on me. Looks like you're struggling over it."

Eddy hated to admit he was right, though he wasn't going to say that was true in the slightest. He made sure the other guy could see some of it, wiping off the remains of whatever magical equations/matrixes he'd drawn.

"There's a drawback to my magic I've been trying to make better. Due to the whole sorcerer deal, I'm decent at a lot of types of magic, but can't really master any of them." He pointed to the schematic of a ring, along with various runes written beside it. "I'm wondering if there's a way to make certain kinds of spells easier for me to do if. There are eight schools of magic that have a learning curve I need to get past."

"And where do the rings come in?" Deuce already looked lost, but the follow up questions were appreciated. Eddy wondered if this was what Double D felt like when he lectured him on stuff. "I mean, some of the runes look cool, but…"

"The runes on the rings are focused on facilitating certain spells. Y'know, like rituals using sigils and stuff." Eddy brought the paper back to him. "It's pretty much making any 'higher level' spells are easier for me to use in certain schools of magic. I just have to decide what ones I want and what I don't need. Probably drop Necromancy, a lot of government stuff involved with that I don't want to deal with."

"Seems like you know your stuff at least." Deuce hadn't followed a lot of that, but her figured that Eddy knew what he was talking about. "Been studying a lot of it?"

"Yeah, been doing it for hours. Going through textbooks can be… very… exhausting." Eddy trailed off, eyes widening. He stayed still for enough time to make Deuce wonder if he should call for help, until suddenly getting onto his knees and yelling at the ceiling. "Damn you, Sockhead! You finally turned me into a nerd! Are you happy now?!"

"Eddy, please stop screaming at the ceiling. Your attracting attention."

"Don't tell me what to do, Queenie! I'm having a crisis here!" He pointed at the mummy, narrowing his eyes. "I could curse anyone here and you know it."

Cleo rolled her eyes. She made sure to adjust the bikini top, making sure it stuck to her chest. A blue shawl covered the lower half of her body, preventing anyone from seeing underneath it.

"Looks good, Cleo." Deuce did sound honest, and if anyone looked closely enough, they could've seen him look her over. The mummy chuckled, giving him a kiss on the cheek, Eddy gagging in the background.

"She's got a point, Eddy. Not sure what Double D did, but maybe wait until he's here to yell at him." Raven set aside the curtain, though she was really laughing at the two's back and forth. She felt a little awkward wearing the halter top and skirt bottom at first, but Eddy didn't even seem to care, so she didn't either. "Though, if you're still going with that ring idea, I'd suggest going to with Transmutation or Evocation first."

"Isn't Evocation the battle magic?" Apple stepped out too, somehow the most self-conscious. She wore a one-piece suit that had frills at the edges. It made sense; her more conservative nature did make it hard to show skin. "I guess he's a villain, but I don't think people would be comfortable with him knowing that."

"Aren't you supposed to be happy that she's giving me the more destructive options?" Eddy figured focusing on that would be a better option than him focusing on the swimsuits. If he was honest with himself, all of them looked great. Not that he'd admit it. "I was thinking I could focus on getting five schools of magic on one hand and have specific Evocation spells as the other. Other than Necromancy, I think I might ditch Divination. That stuff _sounds _cool, but it doesn't seem my style."

"The fact you have this figured out is frightening." Raven didn't seem too perturbed as she said this, though, only nodding appreciatively. "If you're doing this type of stuff, I'm kind of scared to figure out what the other two are doing."

"Ok, talk of weapons of mass destruction is over," Cleo clapped to emphasize her point. She didn't want Eddy derailing the conversation any longer than he could get away with. "Now. What exactly are you planning on wearing, Eddy?"

"There really isn't a lot of choices here, honestly." Deuce shrugged, lifting up a simple pair of swim trunks he picked out. "I don't think there's any wrong choice here he could go with."

"I wouldn't challenge him if I were you." Apple saw a gleam appear in the mischievous sorcerer's eye. "He might just find something terrible."

"Well, he isn't going to wear something ugly, at the very least." The mummy clicked her tongue, looking Eddy over. "At least, not without an old-fashioned Egyptian curse on his heels if he does."

Eddy narrowed his eyes at her, smirk growing. "…Would any of you be against speedo's?"

The group, despite warning him to be quiet earlier, went into an uproar at the question.

"Dear god, no. Please, do not let my virgin eyes look at that." The sorceress was borderline ready to hex him herself at the declaration. Ravens hands were alight and ready to throw a curse his way. "Unless you're joining a body builder contest, don't even think about it."

"Yeah, as much fun as that would be… no, wait, it wouldn't be." Deuce retracted any statement he was about to make, face cringing as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "If you want to be immortalized in stone wearing it, I'm begging you."

"What's a speedo?" Apple was just clueless, wondering why everyone was freaking out. Cleo leaned in and whispered into her ear, causing the princess to recoil. "I'd suggest not, but I guess you are free to decide."

"Glad to know one of you here supports me, Princess." Eddy had no intention of wearing one, especially since that one time he did as a kid didn't go so well. "Because if I'm forced to choose anything here that I don't like, you can blame Queenie."

Cleo groaned, putting her face into her hands. "Fine. Pick something, but make sure you actually look good in it. Anything's better than a speedo, I guess."

"Thank you." The boys smile was smug as he went off, picking off a pair of yellow and black swim trunks off a rack. He went into a free changing room, leaving the others to sigh in relief.

A moment of silence occurred as the small group waited for him to come out. Deuce eventually broke it, looking to Raven.

"Hey, you don't happen to know any memory related spells, right?" The gorgon grimaced, tapping the side of his head. "That image he brought up isn't going to leave my mind at all."

"Same, but no, not in my skillset."

"Dammit."

* * *

Double D was thoroughly embarrassed by all of this. But then again, that was just how he normally was, so this wasn't abnormal.

He tapped his foot on the floor nervously, playing with his own sketchbook. It was agreed that all of the Ed's would try and take their minds off of the more embarrassing part of the trip by working on their projects. He wasn't sure if either of them were actually doing that, but it certainly helped him.

His main ideas, at the very moment, were simply focusing on his metal tentacles. While they were amazing on their own, it wouldn't hurt to diversify the portfolio.

However, it was surprisingly difficult to do so. Not to be egotistic, but he found that they served their purpose and that they did so pretty well.

His main three ideas were adding powerful magnets to the end of them, create a function that could cause blasts of powerful wind if spun fast enough, or even taser functions. The magnets would be for mobility, mostly for metal walls that would normally be unscalable. The wind blasts, while a strange idea, could be useful in making sure fires in the lab didn't spread.

As for the tasers…

…Well, Eddy's paranoia does tend to spread. Talks of learning Evocation spells (the kind that can cause quite a bit of damage) caused him to wonder what would happen if the scam went south. Bloodgood did say that if they get found out, they'd only loose their memories of this, but that didn't account for Monsters and Legends that _really_ hated humans.

Ed and Eddy had their own defenses. And though Double D's arms would serve well, it didn't hurt to have some extra firepower.

Hopefully, he wouldn't have to use it.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Gah!" Double D closed the book of sketches, Maddie surprising him out of his thoughts. The embarrassment only got worse after noticing that she was in the swimsuit she picked.

It was a simple, regular bikini, but it was in her usual colors of pink yellow and blue. It was almost psychedelic in a way, especially since it was tied up in cutesy bows. Somehow, the fact she wasn't wearing her signature hat really threw him off the most right now.

"Just some personal projects. Not a cause for concern." He nervously chuckled, putting the notebook away in one of his pockets. "I've already picked out something for myself to wear myself and I was simply waiting for one of you to come on out."

He had done that, hoping to stall for time. Unfortunately, the men's section was not a place for variety, but he had found something a little better than just swim trunks. He made sure to wave the swim shirt and swim shorts he found on a rack, red and purple, respectively. Double D was always one for keeping consistency.

Maddie, thankfully, nodded and decided to move on. "At least you're keeping busy. It looks like Clawdeen and Cerise might take a while with theirs." She counted on her fingers, calculating something. "I don't think I've ever seen someone carry that much clothes before, but I guess Clawdeen knows what she's doing."

"And Cerise?"

"She's just shy. But I think she's always been like that." Maddie started to rock the bench, as if all the energy she had in her body was desperately trying to escape. "I don't really know why. She's always been a confident, but I don't even think I've ever seen her without that hood of hers. No one really knows much about her family either, especially on who her dad is."

"That is a core part of her story. I mean, other than the wolf part." Double D touched his own beanie for a second, frowning. "I mean, this is the first time I've seen you without your hat. And I don't think anyone here has seen me without mine."

"True." The Wonderlandian narrowed her eyes at him for a second leaning forward to grab it. "What's under there, exactly?"

"Nothing!" He moved back more, clutching at the hat. "Nothing that matters whatsoever."

"Yeah, I'm having a hard time believing that."

Clawdeen had opened the door while they were talking, watching them with an amused expression. Her swimsuit was a one piece that showed off the sides of her stomach, with one strap going over left shoulder. It was in a rainbow color that had a cheetah print background on it.

"I was wondering if you were just gonna bail for a second there. Good to know that you picked something out too." She looked over the clothes he picked out, nodding in approval. "Looks good too. Let's just hope Cerise picks something."

A phone buzzed, causing Clawdeen to fish one out of her purse. She looked at her iCoffin with curiosity, then frustration.

"Something wrong?" Double D straightened up as the glare went over to him. "Sorry, it just seems like you received some sour news."

"Did something happen about the trip?" Maddie counted the amount of questions on her hand one by one. "Is there a canceled order? Disaster at the school? Cleo texting you again?"

"Nah," The werewolf sighed, putting the iCoffin away with a huff. "My brother's been acting weird lately and I don't get why. I've been asking him about it for a week now and he hasn't said anything. Not to mention Draculaura's been sending me weird texts she isn't explaining."

The other two frowned at that. They didn't really know much about the two, but Clawdeen did. If they were acting strange, then she was most likely right about that. But, they weren't really in the know, since Double D was still relatively 'new,' while Maddie just plain didn't go to their school.

"I'm not usually one to suggest this, but maybe it really is nothing. If it's something serious, I don't think your brother and friend would hide it from you." Double D couldn't speak for them, but that was his honest interpretation.

"Plus, you'd know if it was something bad!" Maddie zipped over to the werewolf, leaning on her and booping her nose. "You _do_ have an eye for detail, after all."

"I'm pretty sure they wouldn't like anyone snooping either. They'll probably tell you what it's about."

The three were surprised to hear the new voice pipe up, looking around for it. Maddie eventually saw a flicker of red behind a clothes rack.

"Cerise, are you really hiding from us?" Maddie pouted, tapping her foot on the ground. "At least let us _see_ how you look. I'm sure you're very pretty!"

"I don't have to do anything. I'm not even sure why I changed." Cerise was not coming out at all and she would die on that hill if she so pleased. "I think I picked out a good one, though, so we can go ahead and leave. I'll get changed."

"Ah ah ah." Clawdeen moved towards the clothes rack with intent. "I made sure to get you a selection and I intend to make sure that it looks good. I get being shy, but this is kinda ridiculous."

Double D raised an eyebrow, a devious thought entered his mind. He smiled mischievously, looking briefly at Maddie. "We could just do what we did in the infirmary again. That seems to motivate her."

"What thing from the infirmary?" The hooded girl sounded alarmed, extremely confused by that statement. "We didn't do anything in the- oh no."

"Oh Cerise~." Double D said it lightly, causing the other two to perk up at that. Cerise groaned lowly at that.

"Oh Cerise~." Maddie joined in, causing their shy friend to groan even louder. If they paid attention to Clawdeen, they would've seen her fighting hysterical laughter at this point.

She calmed down enough to take a deep breath and finish their friend off. "Oh Cerise~."

The girl finally broke, moving aside some of the clothing so they could finally see her. She was blushing as she wore the one piece, as plaid as her normal clothing usually was. It was pretty simple, but she pulled it off.

"You guys are all jerks." Cerise mumbled, kicking at the floor petulantly. She blushed even more as Clawdeen moved up to fix her hood.

"Yeah, but it got you out here and we can finally look at you." The werewolf smirked at the pout sent her way.

"And you look good too! Very fitting style." Maddie gave her a thumbs up, causing Cerise's ire to simmer down.

The hooded girl sent a glare Double D's way. She pointed at him, eyes narrowed. "I will get you back for starting that."

The smart boy, forgoing any past nervousness, smirked.

"I'd like to see you try, Cerise~."

He was hit in the face with a shirt for that comment, but he felt it was worth it.

* * *

Ed figured everything went pretty well, all considering. Then again, Ghoulia and Frankie weren't exactly the most chaotic people when left alone and he didn't really have anything to do, so it wasn't like something could actually go wrong.

Ghoulia just pinked a red and white bikini, opting to wear a shawl around her waste for the occasion. Frankie herself picked out a pretty colorful one piece that had a lightning bolt in the middle. He decided to get one of those old timey ones that were basically a one-piece swimsuit for men. It looked like his shirt too, so that was a win in his book.

Right now, he was just trying to come up with ideas of his own for their latest batch of inventions while the girls bought their suits. He wanted something that he could actually use outside of his main monster form and that was what he was going to get.

He did have an idea for stingers in his hands, go the Assassins Creed route and having a hidden blade, but he wondered if that was going too far. Thoughts of breathing out gas of some kind would be cool, but he didn't know how to translate that to his human form. Maybe some kind of capsules that work like cyanide pills would work. A long tongue maybe?

…He didn't know why, but he figured Double D would find that inappropriate. He'd still use it though!

Eddy even brought up idea of making him good at 'hunting,' though he wasn't sure how far he'd go with that. Specialized earbuds and maybe some subtle eyewear would help with hearing with vision would help.

"I'm becoming a supervillain." It was a weird thought to have, but it escaped from his brain, nonetheless. "At least supervillains are cool. I should get a cape."

"_A cape for what?"_ Ghoulia stepped out of the store, not even missing a beat at the strange remark. Frankie, walking behind her, seemed to be confused for her. _"If you're doing cosplay at any point, feel free to notify me. It's been a while since I've been to con of any sort."_

"It's nothing. Just thinking out loud." Ed decided to leave it at that, closing the book abruptly. "You got everything you needed in there?"

"All of its paid for." Frankie looked around, not sure what to do next. "Though, I'm not entirely sure what we need to do now. I mean, it sounds like other than packing, I think we can call it a day."

"You two can go ahead. I actually got a call from Bloodgood earlier and I'm waiting for it to get here." He looked at his phone, checking the time. "It should be getting here soon. Right about…"

A horn went off, playing La Cucaracha loudly on the open street. Ed looked up and smiled, watching as a slightly beat-up, but still working van drove up. A monster stepped out of it swiftly as he walked up, signing it off back to him.

"Wait, you own a van?" Frankie walked around the vehicle as Ed finished up some paperwork. It honestly looked a bit ugly to her, but it ran fine, so it was most likely okay.

"_I'm guessing you bought this at a used car shop?"_ Ghoulia herself didn't recognize the model, but she figured it was made in the late 70's, early 80's. If that was true, then that thing working was an absolute miracle.

"Actually, me and my friends built it. We used to hang out at our town's junkyard a lot and decided to fix this up." Ed laughed, fondly looking at the van, inspecting it for any damage. Finding none, he headed for the engine block to see if they needed to do any maintenance. "Took a couple of years, but we got it working last spring. It's old, but there's a lot of memories in it."

The zombie of the group looked into the engine as he popped it open. She almost let out a whistle in appreciation. _"This is pretty well built together. Certainly better than what I was expecting."_

"It looks like you put a lot of work into it." The stitched-up girl nodded along; not sure what else she could say. She wasn't exactly a car person, but she trusted Ghoulia's judgement. "Why'd you bring it up now, though?"

Ed shrugged, putting down the hood after noticing nothing was wrong. "Figured it would be good to help bring stuff to Gloom Beach we couldn't carry on the bus." He twirled the keys around, moving to the driver's seat. "Want to take a ride? Looks like everything's good right now but testing it would be a good idea."

"_Sure. Looks like there's room enough in the front seat." _Ghoulia and Frankie moved on in. The seats were surprisingly comfortable. _"Did you do some work on the upholstery? It seems like you had experience with this."_

"We fixed up a few other cars in order to get some cash. Nothing like this though." Ed turned the key in the ignition, smiling as it started up the first time. "Kinda feel bad we had to get rid of the waterbed, though. But it got a hole in it, so we had to throw it out."

"Waterbed?" The car lurched forward as Ed hit the gas, Frankie rushing to put on a seatbelt. After securing herself, she reached over to the radio. "Might as well check this out."

The radio cranked on, static filling the car before a song started playing on the radio.

"_Ca-li-forn-ia girls, _

_We're undeniable._

_Fine, fresh, fierce,_

_We got it on lock!"_

"Hey a classic!" Ed laughed, moving down the street. The other two joined him, agreeing with him that it was weirdly fitting right now.

"_Gloom Beach, here we come."_ Ghoulia smiled, feeling content.

This was going to be a fun weekend.

* * *

**You can thank reviewer and fellow author Fox Boss on for the invention ideas. A lot of what we talked about was to see what the Ed's could pull off thanks to magic and their access to new tech. Not sure what I'll implement now, but I certainly have plenty of good ideas thanks to him for now. If any of you like One Piece and Naruto, feel free to check out their stuff in the link below.**

** u/706680/**

**Either way, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all next time.**


	21. Gloom Beach Intermission 2

**Hey everybody, how's it going? I hope you're glad to see this chapter as I am.**

**It's a little shorter than normal, but since we're in an intermission that (mostly) doesn't have too much plot, I'm giving myself some flexibility. There are story hints for what's coming after, but that's really it.**

**I also have something to ask you guys at the end of the chapter. Nothing serious, but just wanting to know.**

**Either way, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you later!**

* * *

The road trip had been an easy-going affair. Bloodgood had seen them off with a smile, the girls taking the bus while the Ed's made sure to get any extra stuff delivered with their van. It wasn't the most eventful drive, to be sure, but it weirdly set the Ed's at ease getting on the road again, even if it was for a brief time.

It didn't take long to get there, even if a few wrong turns were taken at the most inopportune times. The Ed's suspected magic was involved in order to make the trip shorter for anyone looking for it.

When the Ed's and the girls finally stopped near the sandy shores of Gloom Beach, they stepped out and took in the sights.

Eddy was the first to remark on their surroundings, letting out a low whistle. "Nice place. Foggy as all hell, but nice place."

"Well, it does need to be a little darker for some of us. Remember, Draculaura is allergic to sunlight." Cleo gave a bag to one of her attendants, waving them away to take it to their cabins. "They do have to accommodate to our needs if they want people to stay here."

"That is true, Eddy. Certain monsters wouldn't be able to go to a beach otherwise." Double D looked over to see the rest of the girls filing out. "Speaking of which, Draculaura, are you sure that the fog will be enough?"

"I put a lot of sunscreen in the bus." Everyone could tell, seeing as how it there was enough to stand out from her naturally pale skin. "I probably should've asked for help. I don't think I spread this evenly enough."

"I'll help out." Clawd threw the suggestion out there quickly. "Well, after we all change first. Just need to know what SPF you use."

"Ah, thank you!" Draculaura grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the group. "I'll have to shower, though. I think I used one that was too low."

The group watched them leave, some with raised eyebrows, others with suspicion. Raven leaned over to Clawdeen, one of the former as she innocently raised a brow. "Are they interested in each other? I don't exactly have a lot of experience in this."

"They better not be." The werewolf was the latter, narrowing her eyes at their retreating forms. "I've had to deal with this once and I'm not letting it happen again. Seriously, does that boy ever learn?"

"You're being paranoid." Cerise patted her friend on the back, doing her best to ease her fears. "Like I said before, it's none of our business. Besides, they'd tell you first if they were doing anything."

"_Plus, this is a time for relaxation. Let's leave any relationship drama at the door, okay?"_ Ghoulia lugged her own bag, posture relaxed. Her eyes washed over the land with a serene smile. _"We'll deal with whatever it is when we get home. At the very least, you'll have an educated guess what that's all about when we get home."_

"Yeah, let's just have some fun!" Maddie practically flipped to the front of the group. "There's no Royal, Rebels, Monsters, or Legends here! We're just some teenagers trying to have some fun, with as little adult supervision as possible. Let's act like it!"

"Uh, guys." Frankie piped up. She looked over the group with alarm. "Where's Ed?"

As if summoning an elder god from below the surface from the earth, Ed kicked open the back of the van. He was wearing his swimsuit, smiling as he jumped out and ran straight towards the shore.

"Olly-olly-oxen free!" He yelled out, beating feet ahead of them before they could react.

"Ed!" The two other Ed boys followed closely behind, with Eddy telling the lummox to wait up and Double D telling him to wait until they checked in. The Monsters and Legends simply watched them go, not sure if they should try and help.

"Well," Deuce grabbed his and Cleo's bags, moving towards the site. "I'm going to put some stuff away and join the fun. Looks like those three know how to party."

The group mumbled in agreement with him, gathering their own luggage and following. Looks like the Ed's kicked things off once again.

* * *

Checking in with the woman in charge of the cheer camp didn't take long and it was by a miracle Ed didn't already jump in the water. Well, if you call Double D catching him with his octo legs a miracle, then it counts.

After that, well, it was just summer fun.

Ed was playing volleyball with Clawd, Deuce, and Gil, Lagoona's boyfriend. It was debatable which side was winning since they were using their abilities as much as they could. Ed was apparently doing just fine, though, considering he and Clawd were winning.

Double D was helping Clawdeen prepare the food, letting Cerise take over the grilling of the meat. She was practically drooling as it cooked, though the two were able to hold her back. Maddie was providing the drinks from somewhere in her hat, which nobody knew where she was keeping it.

Most of the others were simply having fun in or near the lake. Raven had to take a crash course on swimming, but it was smoothed over with the help of Lagoona and anyone else willing to give it a shot. Anyone that wasn't directly in the water were playing a volleyball game of their own.

Eddy, Cleo, and Apple on the other hand were simply relaxing. Well, mostly.

"Any reason why you aren't going out there, Princess?" Eddy sipped on some soda he was able to find, lazily watching everything go by. The sunglasses on his face weren't exactly needed, but it was for style. "Thought you'd be the type to go and do all you can."

"I am!" Apple piped up. She looked around the beach, though, not making a move. "I just feel like relaxing right now. Plus, it's dangerous to be out in the sun too long."

"Apple, we're all either magical, undead, or some variant of inhuman. Skin conditions are the least of our problems." Cleo sipped her own soda, not even getting up from her laid down position. She didn't know why she decided to hang out with these two, but they were the only ones that decided to relax. "You haven't even gone near the water. I even took a dip before coming over her."

"I just don't want to, alright. I'd prefer to stay right here for now." Despite the declaration, Apple shrunk into herself even more. "Maybe this is how I have fun?"

"Please, I've heard about how you keep yourself busy at Ever After. I'd say that you need a break like this." Cleo huffed, putting her arms behind her head to properly soak in the sun. "Back in my day, princesses actually knew how to relax."

"Back in your day? Really showing your age there, Queenie." Eddy dissipated the soda thrown his way into a vapor with a snap of his fingers. He poked at Apple's side, causing the blonde to jump. "Seriously, what's up? You're not like this and trust me when I say that I know what you're usually like."

Eddy wasn't sure if he really cared, but he figured he might as well throw her a bone. Despite pestering Raven about their destiny every other day, she'd proven to be okay. Peppy, but okay. Might as well try and be her friend.

Apple thought about what he said for a few seconds, looking over the length of the beach once again. "I'm not a fan of water."

"Huh?" Eddy tilted his head to the side.

"She said she doesn't like water." Cleo said it casually, taking another sip of her soda, but she was paying very close attention. "Are you sure I'm the one showing my age? It sounds like you'll need hearing aids soon."

"With the amount of explosion I hear every day, I just might." Eddy turned his attention back to the princess. "Sorry, mind continuing?"

Apple shrugged. "I just don't like being near water. Or at least water I can get submerged in." The blonde pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. "It's because of something that happened when I was a kid. I don't really want to talk about it, but it's something that stayed. It's silly, I know."

The other two remained quiet, not saying anything for a few moments. Cleo eventually stopped sipping her soda, putting it down before speaking again.

"I don't like being in pure darkness." The admission pained her to admit, but since they were being vulnerable, she might as well throw it out there. Ghoulia did say to play nice. "After being inside a tomb for as long as I have, you grow to hate it. Especially when you have to go inside a sarcophagus in hopes that within the next hundred years or so, somebody breaks through and wake you up."

"That's understandable in your case, though. I didn't even drown or get hurt in my case." Apple looked to Eddy. "What about you?"

The boy thought twice about actually telling the girl any of his fears but decided to bite the bullet. Like Cleo, he figured he might as well if they were being vulnerable.

"Time." Eddy shrugged at the confused expression. "Look, it ain't exactly physical like either of you, but it's something I'm scared of. Maybe not as much now, but it does scare me."

"What brought that on?" Cleo lowered her sunglasses, raising an eyebrow at him. "You don't seem the type to be philosophical."

"Because it ain't It started because of a nightmare when I was a kid." Eddy leaned back, thinking back to his childhood again. "I was eleven when I dreamed about being an old man. Everyone around me had grown old, had children, and were practically wrinkled all to heck. My childhood was long behind me and it was over an in instant. That kind of thing stuck with me for a long time."

"Jumping from child to senior citizen does sound off putting. I certainly don't want things to change for now." Apple did feel a bit better about sharing this. And also learning something about her friends too. "I guess our fears aren't so silly after all."

"I expected you to be afraid of something a little more embarrassing than that." Cleo shrugged at Eddy's admission. "You couldn't be afraid of hamsters? Bugs maybe? Snakes?"

"I have a hatred for birds that borders on the insane." Eddy pointed at her, narrowing his eyes. "I'm pretty sure its mutual too. Freaking seagulls around here have been watching me all day."

"And this took a turn for the weird." Apple laughed, even if Eddy seemed serious. "Want to talk about it?"

"Please don't." Cleo interjected, putting her sunglasses back on her face.

God, she picked weird people to hang out with.

* * *

Double D was glad that today had been mostly uneventful. Other than normal teenage things, it had been a relaxing first day. As long Saturday and Sunday went over fairly well, he was sure everyone would feel positively recharged by the end of it. Who knows what he'd invent in his lab after all of this is over.

"Lunch was pretty good. I'm pretty sure I've got room for seconds at dinner." Cerise had pretty much gotten over her embarrassment at this point and was keeping a steady stroll with him and Maddie. "Might even challenge Clawd to an eating contest. I'm pretty confident I could win."

"I'm pretty sure a werewolf has an advantage there, but that's your funeral I suppose." Double D chuckled, imagining how exactly that would go down. "Though I suppose you could beat him with some effort thrown in. Is messing with werewolves a genetic disposition, or are you just fond of messing with your destiny?"

"Sounds like a bit of both to me." Maddie skipped along, humming to herself after a day well spent. "Always the daring one, you are. Then again, you are supposed to go into the forest just to deliver something to your grandmother. Maybe you won't need Hunter to help complete your story."

"God, I hope so. He's a good guy, but he really takes the damsel in distress thing too seriously." Cerise scoffed, shrugging as if to say whatever to it. "Hopefully, Ramona will let me off easy when the time comes. The Big Bad Wolf of the story doesn't do that whole eating grandma thing anymore, so it should be fine."

"How is Ramona, anyway? I haven't seen her around lately and Raven said she isn't in any of her villain classes." Maddie looked to Cerise curiously. "You wouldn't happen to know anything, would you?"

"I wasn't even aware Mr. Badwolf had children. Of course, if he wanted to continue the story he would, but I don't think I've ever seen her either." Double D thought back onto the teacher, not honestly recollecting much outside of his teachings. "He does seem to be a very private man, so that probably shouldn't be a surprise."

"Ramona's getting out of reform school sometime after the weekend's over." Cerise notably hesitated after putting out that information after getting two questioning looks. She hurriedly changed gears. "So, where were the fearleaders meeting up again? I forgot."

"Over here!"

The group looked over to see Clawdeen waving at them, pom pom in hand. She looked a bit worn out, but otherwise just fine.

"Cleo working you girls to the bone again?" Maddie, again, pulled her hat out from nowhere and pulled a water bottle out of it. The werewolf didn't bother to question it before guzzling it down. "I thought she'd let you off a bit since we got here."

"She is. We're just practicing the one we're doing Sunday one last time." Clawdeen wiped off some sweat, breathing deeply. "This honestly is a lot more relaxing than the usual stuff she puts us through, so I can't even complain."

"Good, because I was ready for a good vacation." Cerise stretched, bones cracking at the effort. "She must be pretty confident about winning."

"Should we expect something amazing on Sunday?" Double D raised an eyebrow, shifting from one foot to the other. "Seems like it'll be hard to top the one that got you guys here."

"Probably because they got in by the skin of their teeth."

Clawdeen's ears twitched at the sound, groaning before turning towards the voice. "Seriously, Toralei? You're here too?"

"I do have my own cheer team. They're also pretty good at what they do to." Toralei saw the others, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, you invited the Legends and that one unknown guy. Interesting choice. Would've invited my boyfriend if he didn't have that family trip."

"While we're sorry to hear that," Double D tentatively threw out, trying to keep things friendly. "The fearleaders figured we needed a break due to stuff at Ever After. Nothing really like what you're describing."

"Hello there!" Maddie waved at the werecat happily, practically bouncing in place. "I'm Maddie Hatter. I've heard a lot of awful things about you."

"Don't you mean you've heard an awful lot about here?" Cerise questioned, raising an eyebrow at the hatter.

"No!" Maddie didn't even remotely change tone before looking at the hooded girl with a wide smile. "Since when have I ever minced my own words?"

"…Okay, I'll give you that one. That was pretty clever." Toralei looked like she wanted to fight more on that, but let it slide. "I wouldn't get to comfortable with getting the trophy, though. There's a lot of good cheer teams around here. I mean, my teams better, but can't really discredit any of them."

"If you're trying to psych me out, it's not going to work. We did our best to get here and we're going to make it into the top three, no question." Clawdeen jerked a thumb behind her. "And we both know Cleo isn't going to settle for anything lower than first anyway."

"Definitely the type to bring a plague on all your houses if you try and mess with her." Cerise laughed. Kitty Cheshire was a more terrifying person than Toralei was, so it was funny to just watch her get angrier. "You sure you want to mess with that? Besides, isn't your team three people?"

"That's not to mention there's more riding on this than a trophy. Winning this is supposed to be help the school by united them under school spirit." Double D scratched his chin in thought. "I suppose if you did win, it would have the same effect as us. Then again, I have a feeling you wouldn't care about that."

"Who cares about some vampires and werewolves getting all angry over old stuff?" The werecat shrugged, rolling her eyes as she turned away. "Whatever. The rest of the ghouls will wish they joined us when they still could."

The werecat strutted away from the others. None of them were exactly intimidated, but they made sure she was gone before they started speaking again.

"Ominous warning aside," Maddie moved towards the mess hall where they could get their food. "I'm going to get something to eat. I hear they have sloppy joes!"

"Oh man, I haven't had those in a while." Despite the amount of meat she had earlier, Cerise looked excited as she followed behind. She shouted at the other two as she caught up with Maddie. "Better hurry up before I get seconds!"

The two watched them leave for a couple of seconds before looking at each other. Double D looked pensive.

"You've known Ms. Stripe longer than I have." He started carefully, looking back at where the werecat disappeared to. "How likely is it she'd try to sabotage us just to get a chance to win?"

"Pretty high, but this isn't Monster High either." Clawdeen picked up her gym bag, putting the pom poms away. "I wouldn't worry about it. If she gets caught, she'd get banned instantly, so she wouldn't be stupid enough to try anything."

She left to head to the mess hall herself, leaving Double D behind. He took one last look to where Toralei went off too, not entirely reassured by his friend's words.

He knew how reckless ambition and spite mixed. And he was sure he saw that in the werecats face.

* * *

Ed, due to being exposed to Double D for most of his life, knew how to operate a telescope. He's helped him set up plenty during nights where none of them wanted to be home, so it was a familiar ritual.

Turns out helping Ghoulia set up her own was a whole different situation, but one that had some transferable skills, nonetheless.

"_I probably should've left some of these parts at home, but it's rare to find a place with little light pollution."_ Ghoulia made some final adjustments to her monstrosity of a telescope, the digital screen lighting up. _"Hopefully, we can catch something on here worth finding. It's been a while since I've seen a comet."_

"I don't think I've ever asked if aliens exist. Do they?" Ed asked, putting some of the materials away carefully. He watched the screen shift change as the telescope moved, catching the stars, and expanding the planets. "If that's a secret, okay, but I think it would be neat to know."

"_There are, but only a handful have ever come to Earth. Very unfortunate, considering there'd certainly be a lot of interest in the technology they use." _Ghoulia sighed wistfully. _"Space travel is so close, yet so far. Of course, we don't need any more UFO sightings than we can get away with."_

"Awesome." Ed made sure to note that for later, maybe plan an actual siege on Area 51 while he was at it. He wasn't sure yet, he was still young. "Pretty sure that's a win in my book. Double D is going to freak out over that."

"_Don't blow his mind too much. I think we'll need it when we get back home."_ Ghoulia was glad to set up the beanbags on the flat roof. Plopping down into one of them was instantly satisfying. _"I'm surprised you wanted to help me out. Figured you'd want to hang out with the guys or something."_

"I can do that anytime. Actually getting to see stuff like this doesn't always happen, though, so I figured being here would be cool." Ed grabbed the sketchbook from a pocket in his coat. "Haven't had a lot of time to just sketch some things either. Figured space would be a good place to get some inspiration."

"_I wasn't aware that you knew how to draw."_ The zombie tried to find a planet to observe, politely looking over at the worn book Ed grasped in his hands. _"You think you're any good at it?"_

"I've been messing around with it for years, so maybe?" Ed chuckled, messing with the one pencil he brought with him. "Eddy and Double D helped. If they wanted a blueprint, they got me to draw it."

"_Impressive. That takes some skill." _She looked over the condition of the book in his hands, noticing how far in he was going for a new page. _"Looks like you'll be finishing up that one soon. Haven't had time to get another."_

"I've been looking, but I just want to finish this one first." He waved it slightly, smile turning bitter. "I got this from my mom. Might as well use it before it's gone."

The change in threw Ghoulia off a bit. _"I'm guessing things between you and your mother are strained?"_

Ed's face twisted at the question, making her want to back off and change topic. He eventually answered though, his next words coming out slowly. "You could say that. It's complicated."

"_How so?"_ Ghoulia wasn't sure if she should push any of this, but this was a rare opportunity. Ed never really talked about himself all that much without significant prompting. _"I'm guessing you didn't leave on good terms?"_

"According to Bloodgood, it took a bit for them to realize I left." He shrugged. "I wouldn't call us close. We had a lot of things going on while I lived there, can't really say we had the time."

"_At least they gave you that sketchbook."_ Ed's expression shifted again, making her rethink that. _"I'm guessing they didn't actually give you that."_

"It was part of my mom's old art supplies. She wanted to go to an art college before meeting my dad." Ed shrugged. His pencil remained on the empty page he had flipped too, and the screen connected to the telescope hadn't moved an inch. "You know the story. Girl meets boy, they get together, things go wrong, and the girl ends up pregnant. They end up in a suburb with two kids with the boy working a nine to five after being forced to drop out."

The entire thing came out in one breath, leaving Ed winded. Ghoulia looked put off, but she didn't say anything just in case he wanted to talk more.

Ed blinked after catching his breath, straightening up and putting a blank smile on his face. "But that's the past. I'm just focusing on the future right now."

"…_Right."_ Ghoulia wanted to talk more about whatever that was, but she recognized the look and knew that he wouldn't. _"Let's just find- wait, are Toralei's friends down there?"_

The two got up, looking over the roof to see Purrsephone and Meowlody moving around in the dark. The two were pretty confident despite that, moving around the cabins with unnerving speed.

"_What are they doing out here so late? It should be lights out by now." _Ghoulia could see they were holding something but couldn't tell what. _"I don't want to assume, but when it involved Toralei, usually something bad follows."_

"Wait, let me get my iCoffin." Ed fished his phone out of his pocket, moving to the railing as fast as he could. It was too late, though, the werecats taking a turn before he could get the picture. "…I really hope they weren't doing anything."

"_Ditto."_

* * *

Saturday hadn't started off any more eventful than yesterday, which was a relief. However, the combined reports of Clawdeen and Ghoulia set everyone a little on edge.

"I know she's up to something. Of course she wouldn't just sit on by and let us win." Cleo squeezed the stress ball hard, taking slow breaths as she searched for the werecat among the other patrons. The cheer competition had started for today and that meant watching their competitors. "That's just how she is. Practically a copy of Nefera, I just know it."

"Babe, I'm sure she isn't going to try anything. Scary Murphy wouldn't let it happen." Deuce's eyes wandered over to the judge and runner of the camp warily. "I think she'd be too scared to try."

"I wouldn't count on it. Some people are way too dumb for their own good." Eddy ignored the betrayed look from the gorgon. "Hey, some people are just too ambitious for their own good. I know when to dial it down a bit at least."

"I'm inclined to believe you, but that sounds very… strange compared to your earlier statements." Apple saw some orange fur in the distance, taking a seat on the opposite side of the stadium. "She's right across if you're wondering. Doesn't seem to have done anything."

Eddy squinted at the werecat. "I wouldn't say that. She looks like the cat that ate the canary." At the chorus of groans, he threw up his hands in a defensive gesture. "Hey, people rarely even say that anymore. You should applaud me for my creativity here."

"I think I'll pass." Deuce laughed all the same, but it was an involuntary one. He looked down as one of the first groups went up to bat. "The Amityville Horrors? That's kinda morbid."

"Why? That sounds like a clever team name to me." As the others stared at her, Apple grew confused. "I'm going to guess I'm missing something here."

"Yes, but I don't think I want to explain it to you." Cleo went back to squeezing her stress ball as the routine started.

Things went quiet as they watched it go on, though something was off about it. Eddy wasn't sure why, but he couldn't help but feel like something was familiar about the Horrors routine.

"Babe," Deuce cautiously started, eyes narrowing. Apparently he was feeling that creeping sense of familiarity too. "That looks a lot like your teams routine."

A loud _pop_ went off, causing the others to jump. They looked to see Cleo eyes narrowed, the remains of the stress ball still gripped by her manicured nails.

"Cleo, is everything alright?" Apple's eyes drifted between the mummy and the fearleaders below still doing their routine. "You look ready to commit murder right now and I can't tell why."

"That's because, Apple," Cleo glared at Toralei with a good amount of hatred behind it. "That _is_ my team's routine. And I think I know who gave it to them."

Eddy's own eyes switched over to the tabby, raising an eyebrow. Toralei eventually noticed the glare she was receiving from Cleo, giving a smirk as she waved at them smugly.

"She does realize," Eddy narrowed his own eyes, feeling mischievous at being challenged so blatantly. "That this means war."

He was going to teach her how a real scam artist does things.

* * *

**Like I said, shorter than usual. Hopefully you all liked it just the same, though!**

**Alright, I wanted to ask you guys to weigh in on something I've been considering. After the two fics I'm currently working on are over (which probably won't for a long time) I'm wondering what I could do next. I figured I might as well ask you guys since you seem to like my stuff!**

**I'll be talking about my ideas on my Tumblr, so check it out for the post. It'll most likely be at the top, right after the one advertising this chapter of the fic. Weigh in the reviews/comments which one of the ideas you'd think would be interesting or your own below. I have a lot to use, so feel free to check them out.**

**Linke Here: blog/the-helpless-lemon**

**Either way, I'll see you all next chapter!**


	22. Gloom Beach Intermission 3

**Okay, now this is the final part of the intermission. It's as easygoing as the rest, so I think you'll all like it. I think it wraps up quite nicely, though I do feel like I rushed it in some cases. I'm just excited to get the upcoming parts!**

**Without further ado, here's the chapter!**

* * *

It didn't take a detective to know that Cleo was absolutely enraged. It had been plain on her face since the rally earlier, only restrained by Deuce doing his absolute best to calm her down. It was only luck that prevented a full-on melt down, according to Clawdeen.

"I'd say that I can't believe this, but this is up Toralei's alley." The mummy was sorting through a bag of cursed objects, throwing out any that didn't suit her tastes. "I should've figured that something like this would happen. We came in here too smoothly and didn't consider the one person that would be willing to cheat."

"Technically, there's two groups willing to cheat here. The Amityville Horrors did receive some help." Maddie was gathering the items without a care in the world, using a pillowcase as a buffer in case they backfired. "So, we've got two groups of cheaters. Plenty of people doing wrong here."

"That doesn't mean you need to go after them as targets, though!" Apple tried to divert the girl's attention away from immediate, painful revenge, nervously watching as Cleo glared at them. "We'd be seen as in the wrong here if you decided to attack them."

"_Apple's got a point there. Cursing one of either team would just result in us getting disqualified."_ Ghoulia was able to guide the mummy away from the cursed objects, sitting her down before any more trouble could start. _"We just need to find proof of their cheating. It'll be difficult, but not impossible."_

"Isn't there, like, truth spells we could use?" Ed received some stares from the others, causing him to shrink back. "I guess we aren't allowed to do that?"

"Only the authorities that can use magic are allowed to learn truth spells. Another thing my mom got banned within the kingdoms." Raven rolled her eyes, sighing at the memory. "She always made sure to use them on every one of her citizens, making sure nobody could lie about any plans to usurp her."

"Yeah, so none of that would fly. Besides, I don't think Scary Murphy would let that fly anyway." Clawdeen was looking through the rulebook, not seeing anything they could use to help themselves. "Magic isn't allowed to be used against competitors. Helps prevent sabotage."

"Well, then we are in a bind. Ghoulia and Ed witnessing Purrsephone and Meowlody running around outside isn't really enough to cast suspicion." Double D perused the rulebook himself, trying to find any way to formally get the teams kicked off. "People can say anything, so eyewitness accounts mean nothing. Since there were no prior recordings, it's all circumstantial."

"We might need to hurry up with this, you know." Cerise took a peek outside the cabin, watching as the casketball players tried to help the rest of the fearleaders. "I think the others are about to call it quits if we don't speed things along. Frankie looks about ready to cry."

There was silence for a moment as they all contemplated what to do next. It would've remained that way until someone raised their hand.

"I think we're going about this the wrong way." Eddy steepled his fingers, legs crossed as the leaned back in his chair. "If we can't prove that they did anything now, then we go with the second option; we trick them."

"The heck are you talking about, dude." Deuce raised an eyebrow, rubbing circles into his girlfriend's back. "If you got something, just say it."

"Hear me out." Eddy moved out of his seat, raising his hands slightly. He moved around the room as he talked, deliberately keeping pace. "I'm not sure what you've heard about me and my friends here, but we do have a past dealing with this sort of thing. We know how trick people pretty easily because of it."

"Yeah, you guys selling fake lotion to rich people. I remember." Cerise received some stares of her won at the comment. She rolled her eyes, pointing at Double D with a raised eyebrow. "Ask him, he apparently made it. I only know what Eddy told me."

"It's complicated." Double D waved off the questions before moving forward, face contorting into one of interest. "I think I get what Eddy's saying, though. The Amityville Horrors seem very driven to win, which led to them cheating. It seems like we could use that to our advantage if we do this right."

"Okay, gonna touch on that fake lotion thing later." Clawdeen closed the book, mentally making a note to check on what exactly those three did before coming to Monster High. "That doesn't _sound_ like a bad idea, but they've already done their routine. We can't really offer one better than the old one."

"Would it really be a good idea to stoop to their level too? Especially if Scary Murphy finds out." Raven pointed at herself, raising an eyebrow. "Then _we'd_ be the ones getting kicked out. I don't know the term exactly, but I'm pretty sure that's just a pyrrhic victory."

"_That is the correct term. And while you have a point, that implies we don't get her involved."_ Ghoulia adjusted her glasses, a glint of light reflecting off of them. _"I propose that if we do this, we conduct it like a sting operation. With official permission, we'd be allowed to do anything."_

"Oh, oh, does that mean one of us gets a wire!" Maddie grabbed her hat, reaching into it to pull out an electric razor. Turning it on, she looked around at everyone with a crazed expression. "Who wants to get their chest shaved?!"

"I will!" Ed raised his hand, already taking off his shirt. At the prompt shouts of the rest of the crowd, he stopped, putting his own hands up in the air. "Okay, sorry, just trying to help. I thought it would work."

"We can probably do something that doesn't require any body hair to be lopped off." Apple took the razor away from Maddie gently, putting it aside for now. "This does sound like a good plan, though. What do you have to say about this, Cleo?"

The mummy was silent, going over the plan in her mind quickly. Looking at Deuce for a second opinion, her boyfriend just shrugged before nodding along.

"It sounds like a plan to me. I don't see anything wrong with it." The gorgon squeezed her with a side hug. "If it works, it works."

Cleo eventually sighed, getting up. Moving to her bag, she opened it to find a compartment carrying a lot of papers.

"If we do this, that means us fearleaders are going to be working late into the night to come up with a new routine." She sorted through the papers as quickly as she could, giving a few to Ghoulia as she passed. "Legends will get the sting going while the Ed's do the sting. They have the most experience, especially with whatever that lotion thing is about."

The group agreed with the sentiment, some of them even getting up to start the plan.

They stopped, though, after Clawd opened the door with the most confused expression on his face.

"Can one of you explain to me why I heard yelling about shaving someone's chest?" He asked slowly, looking at all of them with confusion on his face.

Maddie, in response, stayed completely silent as she raised the electric razor, turning it on.

Clawd had no further questions as he hurriedly went back outside.

* * *

The outside of the Amityville Horror's cabin would've been intimidating if the Ed's hadn't been within their own element already. Sure, it was a bit different to the usual stuff they did, but it was a similar premise.

"Okay, how do you guys want to do this?" Eddy walked towards the place slowly, keeping an eye out for anybody else. "There's a thousand ways we can sell this type of act. They're _probably_ not as dumb as certain marks, but they aren't creative if they need to buy a routine from somebody."

"As strange as it sounds, I think we should improv this one. That seems to be our strong suite lately." Double D adjusted his hat, making sure he was presentable for the scam. "It's not like we have that much to offer. Speaking of which, you still have it, right Ed?"

"Got it in my pocket." Ed patted something in his jacket, confidently strolling beside the two. It was surprisingly easygoing. "I feel like a secret agent right now. Or an undercover cop."

"Yeah, well, cops never committed crimes against the laws of physics, so we're better than them. Not exactly a high bar, but still better." Eddy jumped up the steps, raising his hand to knock. "From the one, to the two, to the three…"

Eddy knocked loudly on the door to make sure there was no issue with anyone hearing them. It only took a couple of seconds for one of the cheerleaders to open the door. Squinting at them suspiciously, her confusion was evident.

"Hello?" It probably hadn't meant to come out so questioningly, but it did. Guess she recognized them. "We're a little busy right now, so if you wouldn't mind…"

"Don't worry, we just need a few moments of your time." Double D smiled charmingly, disabling the tense mood. He was a natural at that. Must've been the gap in his teeth making him seem boyish somehow. "We were just wondering about something that happened at the competition today."

"Yeah!" Ed had gone full dumb voice at this point, getting somewhat louder to emphasize it. "We thought your routine was cool and wanted to know where you learned it!"

The cheerleader made a grimace, already beginning to close the door. "Look, I'm flattered, but again, we're kinda busy. Don't have time to for anyone asking us out so-"

Before the door could be fully shut, Eddy shoved his foot it, making it stop. His smile sharpened at the attempt to escape questioning, sighing deeply.

"What's wrong? Don't want to talk about how you got it from the _werecat?"_ Eddy felt almost smug at the twist of the girl's expression. He titled his head curiously, as if he were stating something completely innocent. "Just wanted to clear some things up. That's all."

The cheerleader looked fearful, debating what she should do. She eventually raised a finger, signaling for them to wait.

Eddy narrowed his eyes slightly, taking his foot from the door easily. It closed, the boys waiting patiently as they heard the voices inside started arguing. They considered the possibility of trying this again later before the door opened again, the cheerleader motioning for them to come inside.

It didn't take long for the three to walk in, cautiously checking out the place. Some of the cheerleaders were trying to play it cool but failing somewhat as they could feel eyes all over them. Some of them didn't even bother trying to play it cool at all, openly glaring at them as if they were intruders.

They were, but that wasn't really the point. The nerve of these girls. Openly stealing a routine and then treating _them_ like the bad guys? Just plain distasteful.

"So," The three took a look to the girl at the center, obviously the cheer captain. They'd dug up as much as they could before this, so it wasn't hard. "What exactly do you three want? If this is some kind of blackmail, you're all out of luck."

"Not at all." Eddy moved one of the chairs in the room with his magic, smoothly sitting in it while not looking directly at it. His smile didn't waver as the other two Ed's moved to stand beside him. "Just sending a little warning that maybe you shouldn't have went with that little deal."

"And why's that?" The cheerleader wasn't impressed by the little trick, though an eyebrow quirked at the mention. "I'm pretty sure someone who wanted us out of here and, y'know, had evidence, wouldn't be here to taunt me. Unless you wanted something."

"Oh, no, we're being completely honest here!" Double D rubbed the back of his neck, almost as if he were embarrassed by the accusation. "We wouldn't dare do something like that."

"Toralei would, though." Ed 'absentmindedly' added. He shrugged at the confused expression some of the cheerleaders sent their way. "Just saying. Toralei would gladly send anything she had in, especially with Cleo backing her. You did kind of hand them the win here."

The cheer captain started to look irritated, though a bit paranoid. Good. That was the point of all of this, to get her questioning.

"What are you talking about? Toralei said she hated Cleo." The captain's paranoia was rising every second, her posture changing to sitting upright. "She wouldn't pull that if she wanted to take her down."

"Okay, let me point something out here." Eddy brought his hands together; pointer fingers up in her direction. "They're from the same school. If they got you for cheating, that'd mean less work for them. I mean, they have the video they sold you, so they can use that, right?"

Eddy genuinely thought about bringing their A-game to this, but honestly? She was making this much easier for them by getting paranoid on her own. All the Ed's could see that she hadn't slept much the night before, evidence by the fact she was wearing her sleeping wear. The bags under her eyes were some indication of that as well.

She was as desperate as they came. A perfect mark.

"Luckily, we have a solution here. It'll cost you, but it's a solution." Double D produced a key from one of his pockets, smiling confidently. They had this in the bag. "This key here is Scary Murphy's skeleton key. Use this, and you can access the lockers of any of the Monster High fearleaders!"

"All for the low, low price of _double _what you paid Toralei!" Ed waved at the key himself in a cheesy fashion. "Not only will you find that video they used, but you'll also be able to sabotage their equipment! A fair deal, right?"

There was a moment of silence as the cheerleaders looked at the key, and then at each other. One of them swiped at the key within a second, causing Double D to toss it towards Ed. A metal tentacle came out, opening and closing rapidly to dissuade anyone else from trying anything.

"Never mind! Let's make that triple the price." Ed laughed in a way that sounded so cruel to their ears. His tone hadn't changed in the slightest. "Try it again, and we're doing five times that!"

"We would do that, by the way. We've done much worse than that." Double D's metal arm swayed across the room, having him eye the others with a bit of contempt. "Don't try it again."

"Why are you even doing this? Didn't you come from the same school too?!" The cheer captain waved at one of the girls to get something, most likely her wallet. "How do I know this isn't a trick either?"

"Please, you think we'd pull that off?" Eddy scoffed, leaning back in the seat confidently. A smirk formed on his face. "Let's just leave it at the fact that if there's a profit to be made, I'm there to get it."

Eddy continued to smirk as they were paid, the transaction becoming official as they confirmed everything about Toralei's deal. Now it was up for the second phase to start.

He hoped the girls were ready for that part.

* * *

It was late into the second night of the cheerleading camp when a rustling could be heard within the locker rooms. It was quickly hushed by several voices, silence following until movement could be heard once more.

Some of the Amityville Horrors, led by their captain, did their best not to draw attention to themselves. They didn't suspect any Monsters with advanced hearing to be nearby, but it was better to be safe than sorry. The captain herself had to fight the urge to count the numbers of the lockers out loud, having memorized them since they go here.

She eventually made it to the lockers that mattered, double checking to see that they were all in the right place. Fumbling with the skeleton key, she moved it around into the slot, opening it with careful ease.

Instant regret came along when a ball of magic enveloped the entire team, stopping them from taking one more step.

"I can't believe you all actually went for it." Raven teleported to a seat not from them, give a small tsk. "I get wanting to win something, but outright sabotage? That's just low."

"Well, the Ed's did give them the key, so they can't be held responsible completely." Apple moved to sit beside her roommate, crossing her legs daintily. She gasped. "Oh, wait, they bought it from them. Never mind, they have this coming."

"At least we got them here." Cerise moved out followed by another figure that was certainly recognizable. "Do you need any more proof, Scary Murphy, or is this good?"

"I'd say that this is enough." The Amityville Horrors felt their hearts stop at the voice, with the undead practically dying all over again. The figure of a cloak, witches' hat, and the decapitated head floating in glass sphere would send shivers down everyone's spines, but the fact she ran the camp certainly helped.

"Good, because I was about to say, if that wasn't enough," Raven let out a sigh, relaxing on the bench. She almost felt smug about all of this, considering just how easy this was. "We would've gone a little extreme with it if we could, but I think this was for the better."

"Wait, how did you know we'd be here?!" The cheer captain hit the wall of the magic bubble, hissing at the feedback punching back. "Did those guys sell us out?!"

"Oh, they were wearing a wire. Y'know, like they do in those crime shows." Cerise chuckled, pulling out the recorder they used. Playing it, the cheerleaders felt dread seep in as the conversation they had earlier began to play back at them. "I still can't believe they got that much money out of you. I thought that was insane."

"Considering the evidence, I do believe that is 'insane,' as you call it." Scary Murphy flitted around the lockers, counting things down as if she were looking for something. "I was skeptical of your claims at first, so I will have to apologize for that."

"It's fine, we were expecting some questions." Apple sent an apologetic smile towards the Amityville Horrors. It was hard to say whether it was actually genuine, considering the circumstances. "Ugly bit of business, all of this. Then again, this probably would've happened to someone else if they decided to go with Toralei, so…"

Every one of them shrugged. It was definitely mocking enough for every one of the caught cheerleaders to recognize it.

"What are you looking for, exactly?" Apple raised an eyebrow as Scary Murphy kept checking the locker numbers. She'd been doing so while remaining stoic the entire time. "I do believe we've caught them already."

"Quite soundly, as well, but I've dealt with cheaters before. Especially if two teams happen to be collaborating for whatever reason." Scary Murphy stopped at a trio of lockers, pulling out a key of her own and inserting it into the lock. "And usually, they're not as clever as they say they are. Ah, here it is!"

The counselor pulled a video camera out of the locker with ease, messing with carefully. She eventually found the video library, messing around with it until she found the exact video she was looking for.

"Oh, would you look at that. It's the routine you guys did!" Cerise sarcastically pointed out, faux enthusiasm in every movement. "Kinda looks like what you guys did at the competition earlier! I mean, maybe not as good, but definitely similar."

"I think they get it, Cerise." Raven wanted to poke the proverbial bear as much as the rest, but she was starting to get tired. Keeping up a magical construct was hard work and she earned a break after this. "Is this enough to get them punished for all of this, Mrs. Murphy? Do we need anything else?"

"No, I think this will be enough. I appreciate you all telling me about this. I certainly can't stand cheaters." Murphy snapped her fingers, a field of magic overtaking Raven's. It lifted up the cheerleader and moved them to their own lockers. "I'd suggest all of you who participated in this clear out your lockers fast. You'll be shipped home in the morning."

The girls almost felt sorry after hearing the moans from the Amityville Horrors. They could've sworn that the captain was sobbing while they were being escorted away. Of course, cheaters never prosper in a good world, so they didn't feel too bad.

"Hopefully the learn a lesson from all of this." Apple was trying her best to find a bright side to this situation. "I doubt they're school is going to be appreciative about being banned from the competition for cheating. Well, if that's the punishment."

"Highschool doesn't really last forever, so they should be fine." Raven got up and stretched. She started to head out, followed closely by the other two. "I don't know about you two, but I think I'll worry about that later. I need some sleep."

"I don't why you guys are worried. Clawdeen came back into our cabin earlier and slept through dinner." Cerise huffed, jumping ahead. "They got what they had coming to them."

The other two silently agreed, even if that was slightly cruel to think about. They didn't say another word, hoping tomorrow would go smoothly.

* * *

Maddie was not easily impressed. It wasn't because she was snobby or anything like that, but she'd seen some pretty crazy stuff during her time. It was par for the course of being a Wonderlandian.

She could easily say that she was impressed to see a fully good routine come from the fearleaders with only a day to plan and practice it. It certainly deserved the round of applause that came after the routine was done.

"Good hustle out there!" Maddie handed the refreshments out to them after they got off the stage, congratulating them one by one. "I hope you're all proud of yourselves! I was wondering what you'd all come up with."

"Thank you, it was all hard work and a lot more improv than I'm comfortable with." Cleo wasn't proud of how she guzzled down her own water, but she didn't care. She needed it right now. "Again, remind me to eviscerate Toralei when we get back to Monster High. She won't ever dare try to do something like this again."

"_Duly noted, but let's wait until they're done with their routine to figure out what to do next."_ Ghoulia filed the video she took of the performance for later. Might as well have footage of what made them win. _"I think we'll all like show that's coming up. I certainly will."_

"Didn't know you had a sadistic streak." Clawdeen munched on an energy bar, watching as Toralei and her crew started to get their equipment. "I get it, but damn. Maybe keep it down a little."

"_No."_

The others chuckled, giving a suspicious side eye to the zombie of the group. Scary Murphy called up the three werecats, causing them to divert their attention.

Toralei, Purrsephone, and Meowlody didn't seem to notice the serious look from the camp counselor at first, but it wasn't long until they were made aware of it.

"So, uh," Toralei may have not been the only one to catch on that something was wrong, but she was certainly the first. "Do you want us to start or…?"

"Actually, I'd like to talk about something before we begin." Scary Murphy put on a smile, which somehow didn't make the three werecats feel any better. She rummaged around for something under her desk before putting something on the table. "There it is. Do you mind explaining what this is to me?"

Toralei gulped as she saw the video camera placed on the judges table. "A camera?"

"Yes." The counselor drew it out carefully, a small hum in her voice. It wasn't what she wanted to hear. "Do you happen to know who this belongs too? I'd suggest being honest."

Toralei gulped again, realizing that she was now in deep. "I-I think that's my camera. Right?"

"Good. Another question." Scary Murphy slowly opened up the camera, turning the screen to face them. "What do you think is on this little camera? Just give me a rough estimate."

Toralei shuffled where she was standing, obviously nervous. It looked like her cohorts were about to say something themselves but backed off at the last second. Silence on both sides ruled.

"Come on now. You did say this was your camera." Murphy pushed a few buttons, the small device turning on. "I'm sure you wouldn't mind telling me. I might not even ban you completely if you tell me."

Toralei almost jumped at the offer but saw how people were watching her. Especially the fearleaders, who couldn't help but eat this up. She shut her mouth with a growl.

"You already know." It was resigned, but still indignant. "It's a cheer routine. The other fearleaders team from Monster High."

Scary Murphy seemed pleased. She turned off the camera before it could start up completely, putting it below her desk once again.

"Good. Maybe there is some potential in there after all." The counselor seemed relieved at the admission, even if it had to come out like she was pulling teeth. "All three of you girls are _not_ banned from future competitions. However, due to selling information to another team in order to sabotage another, you will be disqualified for this year. I'd suggest cleaning up your act before the next."

And just like that, it was over. Toralei and the werecats slumped at the news, dejected at having been kicked off, even though they got why. They started to head off, putting their equipment away when Toralei caught eyes with Cleo. The werecat sent a glare to the mummy before heading off, obviously cursing under her breath.

"I was almost hoping that she'd try and fight me for a second. I'd _gladly_ put a few cursed charms on her while she wasn't looking." Cleo felt satisfied, though she really did want a bigger confrontation. "Then again, she probably knows not to push her luck. For once."

"She hasn't reached that part of her character arc yet to face you one on one. Just wait for it." Maddie shrugged, ignoring all of the stares. "Trust me. You hear narrators all your life, you can tell the story beats from one to another."

"You're lucky you're cute, otherwise I'd question what the heck you're talking about." Clawdeen finished off the energy bar, throwing it casually into a bin. "Let's hope the judging is quick. I really hate being left in suspense."

"_Me too. Looks like we won't have to wait for long, though." _Ghoulia, despite not being the superstitious type, crossed her fingers. _"Let's hope our hard work was worth it, girls."_

Scary Murphy, having finished talking with the other judges, turned on the microphone yet again. Standing up, she addressed the crowd.

"After careful deliberation, we've come to a decision." The counselor's voice reverberated across the crowd, quieting them. "With amazing hard work, dedication, and inventiveness, we announce that the Monster High Fearleaders have won this year's cheer competition."

Cheers immediately came from the crowd in waves, some voices familiar, but most not. The girls themselves had to restrain themselves from running towards the main stage. Cleo happily received the award from Scary Murphy, waving at the crowd regally as she did so.

"_Well, that worked out surprisingly well." _Ghoulia sighed, relief palpable within the zombie's visage. _"I was almost worried for a second there."_

"Seriously, you were worried about us?" Clawdeen laughed at the thought, patting her friend on the back. "We haven't failed yet, and I sure as hell would like to see what'd try to take us down from this."

"Me too." Cleo held the trophy closer as she looked at the adoring crowd, a genuinely relaxed smile on her face. "Me too."

Maddie stood apart, near the foot of the stage. She heard the comments and sighed openly, though she did her best to keep the smile on her face.

"Don't they know better than to say some red flags like that?" She mumbled to herself. The hatter eventually shrugged, deciding to join in the festivities for now.

The story beats could be damned for now.

* * *

"I can easily say that this weekend has been particularly fruitful, gentlemen." Double D put the last of his luggage on the bus before closing the back. Despite the relaxing sands of the beach, he couldn't wait to get back to his projects. "Hopefully, we can ride this atmosphere going forward."

"We better. We helped get that trophy." Eddy stretched, already missing the place. He wasn't looking forward to getting back to schoolwork. "Ed, you got any plans for when we get back? I sure as heck don't want to be the only one working on assignments."

The two didn't get anything from their tall friend, who was messing with his phone. The other two Ed's watched their tall friend type into it, with Eddy eventually nudging him.

"Huh?" The tall Ed boy nearly launched his phone in the air. "Sorry, I was trying to text Bloodgood the news. Make room in the trophy case."

"Looked like a little more than that." Double D got a look at Ed's iCoffin, squinting at the screen. "Has she been answering? It doesn't seem like her to just go off the grid like that."

"Nothing from her." Ed looked worried, checking over his messages again. He didn't see anything that could've offended her in them. "I thought she'd be jumping for joy on this."

"She's probably in a meeting, Monobrow. She'll congratulate us when we get back to the school." Eddy yawned, moving towards the bus entrance. The girls were already filing in, along with the others. "I'm going to take a nap. Nobody wake me up unless the worlds ending."

The other two Ed's looked at each other before shrugging, following their friend seconds later. They figured he was right, and they were worrying about nothing. Monster High was probably the same as it always was and Bloodgood was just dealing with bureaucratic stuff right now.

As the sun set on Gloom Beach, the bus moved away, heading towards New Salem without a care in the world.

And they had no idea what was waiting there for them.

* * *

**Alright people, looks like that's over. I do have to say, this is where things get a little more serious and complicated. I have a lot planned up for the next couple of specials for both shows, so be prepared to see a lot of angst and other stuff.**

**Seriously, I'm not joking. I have a lot of stuff planned that'll make you hurt. And I am so excited to put you through it. (With fair warning at the beginning of each chapter, don't worry.)**

**Anyway, I'll see you at the next chapter!**


	23. Interrupted Victory Lap

**Hey everybody! Glad to see you all here today. This fic's been getting a lot of attention lately, especially with guest reviews! I'm glad to see so many people liking my fic. Remember, if you make fanart or some fanfiction for this, feel free to link me. I'd love to see it.**

**I think we all know what this next one is about. Things are about to get a little hectic, especially with conflicting plans on the horizon.**

**I hope you all enjoy and I'll see you all at the end!**

* * *

The ride home was mostly relaxing. Barring the occasional argument between Eddy and Cleo, things were peaceful enough that it kept the relaxed atmosphere of Gloom Beach when they arrived home. It even lasted when they went to rest that night and got up in the morning.

Then the vibe turned off when they finally went back to school.

"Anybody feel like they're being watched?" Clawdeen ears twitched, as if they were searching for someone talking behind her back. She'd been hearing whispers around her all day and she was not liking it at all. "Seriously. Something doesn't feel right."

"I do sense a bit of tension going on within the school walls. Though you're guess is as good as mine what the source may be." Double D braved the thought of nudging Cleo to get her to look up from her phone but thought better of it. "Cleo, have you heard anything on the grapevine since we got here?"

"I'd say that you're both paranoid, if you didn't happen to be right." The mummy tapped away on her phone, catching up with every gossip hound she knew. "Something set off the werewolves and vampires again. I don't get _what_, but they're set off certainly."

"Are you saying we won that cheer competition to distract them for nothing?!" Clawdeen fought the urge to slam her hands onto the table, eye twitching. "Shouldn't that have brought school spirit up enough to quiet things down?"

"It _should've._ I guess something went awry while we were absent." Cleo looked just as miffed. She brought in the trophy herself to make sure everyone knew the school came out on top, but everyone had been too tense to care. "If I do figure it out, though, I am going to make sure whoever's responsible doesn't step out of the catacombs without explicit permission from me."

"Let's not get to hasty here. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for this." Double D really needed to get the energy down before someone was either mauled or cursed. "It is really suspect that our progress has seemingly reversed throughout a single three-day weekend, but maybe it's a misunderstanding."

"Bloodgood is probably busy sorting things out, I guess. She didn't even announce that we won the competition." Cleo did try to calm herself down. Though a part of her mind couldn't calm down at the indignity of being ignored. "Really hope she isn't stressing herself too much. Can't help but wonder if she's going to worry her own head off if she isn't careful."

"Isn't that a little too late?" Clawdeen laughed at the hidden pun before sobering up again. "Howleen did say that this stuff kinda started out of nowhere, though. Hasn't really interacted with anyone on either side all that much since the new counselor started working here."

"What was his name again? Mr. Van Hellscream?" Double D wasn't quick to judge, especially with his current situation in mind, but he couldn't help but mentally call bull at that name. "What exactly has he been doing since he got here? Supposedly he's organized several events while we've been gone to promote some form of unity."

"Well, whatever he's done, he isn't doing a good job." The mummy put down her phone long enough to actually take a bite of her lunch. "Maybe Bloodgood will fire him. That's probably why she's been busy. She's searching for a way to fire his incompetent behind."

"I never heard of the guy before this, so this might be his first time doing this though. Maybe we should wait?" Clawdeen shrugged. She didn't want anyone fired just yet. But if this guy didn't fix whatever he did soon, then everything would feel like it was nothing. "We can't just get a guy fired."

"Clawdeen, you've known me for years. Don't underestimate me." Cleo waved her phone threateningly, but somewhat playfully, at the werewolf. It looks like winning the cheer competition at least eased the tension between the two, which was considered a win in Double D's book. "You should ask Deuce. After our server got our order wrong four times in a row, it was ridiculously easy to have him replaced."

"No wonder he looked so disturbed yesterday." Double D mused aloud. At the glare he received from the mummy, he smiled nervously and tried to change the subject. "Hey, it looks like one of the vampires is coming to talk to us now. Maybe he wants to talk about the issue himself."

The vampire in question happened to be Bram. Unfortunately for Double D, it seemed like his original assumption was incorrect, judging from the irritated look on his face.

"Hey, Wolf. Mind explaining something to me?" Bram didn't seem to care as Clawdeen's fur bristled at the negative use of her last name. "Your brother's been hanging around Draculaura a lot lately. Any idea what that's about?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, and I'm pretty sure it isn't any of your business anyway." The werewolf growled audibly. It would've intimidated someone smarter, but Bram didn't seem to notice. "I ain't in charge of him, and I don't think you're in charge of Draculaura either."

"Yes, if you'd kindly buzz off? We're busy scheming on how to stop this little feud going on and you're not helping things." Cleo didn't bother looking up from her phone as she said, waving him off.

"This isn't about you, De Nile." Bram snorted. Again, he didn't seem cowed by logical thought at the moment, getting close enough to three to almost get in Clawdeen's face. "And don't lie to me. I don't know what you werewolves are planning but leave her out of it."

"Okay," Double D got up, an octo arm moving out and ready to strike if necessary. "I'm going to ask you to stop now. Clearly you're just trying to start a fight here, and unfortunately, I can't allow you to do that."

"I'm not listening to someone that's either a Legend or a race traitor." Wow, either Bram was brave or especially stupid. He puffed his chest out. "Besides, other than some stuff earlier in the year, you haven't gotten into any fights. I don't even think that Ed guy is as scary as people think he is."

"You'd be a fool to think that, and your behavior seems to support that theory." Double D looked away briefly before putting the octo arm away. "Though, you're right. I don't start fights at random. Deuce on the other hand…"

Bram was suddenly turned around, eyes suddenly on par with the cold blackness of the gorgon's sunglasses. He gulped as Deuce only tilted his head.

"Hey Bram." He said coolly, voice not betraying him. "Heard you talking over here and that kind of reminded me of a rumor I heard. You're interested in Rochelle Goyle, right? The gargoyle?"

"Maybe?" Bram's voice, on the other hand, was shaky. It looks like he realized what kind of situation he got himself into. "What's it to you?"

"I just wanted to know," Deuce stated, slowly sliding his sunglasses down enough to the color of his eyes. "If you wanted to have something in common with her?"

Bram was gone in seconds after hearing that threat. The group watched him go before relaxing.

"Thanks for that. I was about to start swinging if he started to say anything else about my brother." Clawdeen moved back into her seat, sighing. She ran a head across her face, trying to calm down. "This feud's going to get someone killed if I don't die from stress first."

"Where have you been anyway? I've been texting you for fifteen minutes." Cleo gave her boyfriend a kiss as he moved to sit next to her. "At least tell me if you're going to be busy."

"Trying to talk to Romulus and figure out what in Hades is going on around here." He pushed his sunglasses up just in case they fell off. "And from what I know, it's the counselor's fault. He started an assembly for both sides and mentioned some 'comments,' both sides were making about each other. I'm guessing it backfired."

"So it really is the counselor's fault? Hm, that's not good. I do wonder what he was thinking, though." Double D raised in eyebrow at Cleo, waving a fork at her. "If it appears his attempts to fix this make things worse, we might have to get him fired after all. With a new job lined up, of course."

"I'll keep an eye out. He's got to have dirt somewhere." Cleo put her phone down, scooching closer to Deuce. "Though, I'll take a break for now. Any ideas on your end, Clawdeen?"

"Huh?" The werewolf had been spacing out, having only been brought back down to earth. "Sorry, I spaced. What are we talking about?"

"Is something wrong?" Double D's look went from calculating to concerned. "Did what Bram say get to you? We can go to Bloodgood if you want some peace of mind."

"No, I'm fine." She waved off the concern, though something he did say stood out to her, even if she didn't care to admit it.

What did he mean when he said he saw Clawd and Draculaura were hanging out?

* * *

Eddy was bored, but god did he not want to fail that next test by Rumpelstiltskin. He was doing good in the class, but that guy just loved pulling surprise tests and quizzes on them. Seriously, for someone that could do it himself, that guy really loved getting people to spin gold for him.

Of course, needing to study didn't stop him from complaining.

"Are you sure I can't get the guy fired for doing this stuff?" Eddy waved at the mountain of homework Rumpelstiltskin had given them. "This can't be healthy for anybody. I'm pretty sure I'd be doing everyone a service here."

"I'm not a fan of his teaching methods either, Eddy, but we can't. Grimm likes that he gets results." Apple desperately wanted to crack her fingers, but it would've been unladylike to do so. "Though, if he could help lower the amount of homework, then I certainly wouldn't mind."

"So much homework." Maddie mumbled; face planted within the confines of a book. "Too much. Not enough tea to keep me awake to do it."

"Amen to that, Pinks." Eddy tapped his pencil against the desk, groaning loudly. "You think if I disrupt some of the electronics or do something to his papers he'll postpone the test? I think I'll pass, but I don't want to deal with another this soon."

"He's punished the entire class before if they can't do a test, even if it's his fault they couldn't." Maddie rolled her eyes. Even the cheerful Wonderlandian had to admit she didn't like the teacher. "The internet went out for a week once and he made the class take so much extra credit for every missed quiz or test. Everybody had cramps in their hands for a month."

"Maybe a reevaluation of his skills is in order." Apple relented, wincing at the memory. It only happened to some upperclassmen back when she started going to Ever After High, so she'd been spared. But the stories she heard after that made sure she was never tardy for the class. "I'll talk to Grimm as soon as I can. I can't guarantee he'll listen though."

Maddie looked about ready to throw in the towel before she straightened up. A weird look in her eyes made the other two nervous, especially when she didn't immediately say anything for a few moments.

"I sense a distraction coming on." She said ominously, which did not help in the slightest to calm either of them down.

"Hey~!"

The tension was thankfully burst when it turned out Maddie just sense Briar. The party girl was being followed by Cupid and Hopper, the next Frog Prince. Eddy half expected the guy to hiccup and turn into a frog like he did during Potions class once.

"You guys look like you need a distraction. Studying for Rumpelstiltskin's class." At the miserable looks she got, she winced. "Guess I was right. Maybe you wouldn't mind hearing my little proposal here."

"If it's something to get back at wrinkly dwarf, then I'm in, no questions asked." Eddy's pointed his finger at the girl with narrowed, angry eyes. "I still haven't forgiven that guy for the first day of school."

"Uh, no, unfortunately not." Cupid reached out to push Eddy's hand down with a raised eyebrow. "Though it might make Grimm angry if he hears about it."

"That's all you have to say." Eddy leaned back in his chair, grinning. "I'd like to hear it first to get the gist of the plan, though."

"Okay." Hopper seemed relieved hearing the affirmative, even if he still looked particularly scared of dealing with him. "We kinda found something in the library yesterday about some kind of holiday Grimm banned."

"True Hearts Day!" Cupid was apparently excited, having jumped in with lights in her eyes. "It's a holiday all about following your heart and true love! For some reason, Grimm doesn't want us to celebrate it."

"Why not?" Apple looked visibly confused at the idea of it. "That doesn't sound too bad. Finding true love is a what a lot of our stories are about."

"Maybe he doesn't like the 'follow your heart' stuff because of the Royal/Rebel stuff." Maddie put her chin into her hand, huffing slightly. "It sounds like him to be so petty. Banning a holiday just because some people aren't following the rules."

"I personally don't care what he's banning it for, but I think we have an hexcellent little opportunity here." Briar leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers. "Let me tell you, out of all the parties I've been to, the secret ones are always the most fun. I'm thinking our dear old headmaster gave us a golden opportunity to set up one for ourselves."

"Wait. Wouldn't we get into some serious trouble if we got caught, though?" Apple decided to speak up. She wasn't against the idea of the party at all, but she didn't want to risk getting into trouble. "Grimm maybe a little out of line here, but planning in secret…"

"Come on, Princess, it'll be good for the school! Might ease the Royal/Rebel stuff a bit. You haven't exactly been lowering it lately." He pointed at her accusatorily. "I know you've been pestering Raven about it too. And don't say you haven't."

"You kinda have been doing that lately." Hopper spoke up, only to wilt under the sad look from Apple. "I mean, I understand, but, uh…"

In a puff of smoke, her turned into his frog form. Briar wordlessly caught him and put him on the table.

"Besides, it'll be fun! We can even invite some people from Monster High too." Maddie leaned back into her chair. "Imagine the couples! I think the schools could do with some good, wholesome shipping content."

"Exactly! So many people could match up if they bothered to give it a chance. I have entire folders on this stuff." Cupid stopped after saying that. A deep blush appeared on her face. "That isn't a weird thing to admit, right?"

"It is, but you're not getting any judgement from me!" Maddie slammed her hands on the table, looking to Apple expectantly. "Don't you want to help some poor singles in need, Apple? Do it for them!"

The evil stepsisters, late for once, hushed them all. They all cringed in their seats, quieting down as they left. It took a moment for Apple to eventually sigh and interrupt the silence.

"Okay, I'll help. But that means we can't get caught at all." Apple whispered. She eventually sat back, shrugging a little. "At least it won't be as vital as that sting operation at Gloom Beach. Hopefully."

"Alright, I was almost counting you out there!" Briar laughed before what her friend said caught up to her. "Wait, you were in a sting operation? What the heck was going on up there that made you do that?"

"Business." Eddy shrugged at the confused looks he got from everyone else. "Look, either way, we won the competition up there. The important part now is easing things up between the vamps and wolves right now."

"Shouldn't that have calmed down already?" Apple raised an eyebrow. She made sure the trophy had gone to the school and everything. "I thought things were getting better before we left."

"It's nothing too bad right now. It's doing a heck of a number on the relationships at Monster High, though." Cupid sighed, wings fluttering anxiously. "The radio waves have been pretty crowded lately with advice requests. It's good for me, but not exactly for everyone else."

"Hopefully, it'll ease up soon. It can't last forever with us around." As Maddie said this, Eddy got a notification on his phone that caused him to frown. "Is something wrong?"

"Ed got into an incident near the movie theatre. I apparently need to go down there to check it out." Eddy noted the worried looks from everyone else. "Don't worry, nobody got hurt. I just have to go check it out just in case."

Before anyone could stop him, he snapped his fingers and teleported out of there. The group stared at where he was previously.

Hopper, in his frog form, cleared his throat. "I'm sure your compatriots are alright. It's most likely some form of misunderstanding."

"I certainly hope so, Hopper." Apple tapped the table's surface worriedly, a deep-set frown on her face. "I certainly hope so."

* * *

Ed liked putting up simple goals for himself that he knew he could actually do with little difficulty. He had long term ones too, but he preferred to go day by day.

His goal for today was to just have some fun after an admittedly stressful day at school, sharing his interests with friends. And he personally liked to think he succeeded, considering Raven and Ghoulia seemed happy.

"_I'll admit, I'm glad you suggested some of these bands. It's been a while since I've found some good music to listen too while doing homework." _Ghoulia looked through the CD's she picked out carefully. She was more of a digital person, but it felt nice having these as backups. _"I haven't heard about some of these bands, though that's probably since I'm from the other side of the tracks, so to speak."_

"I'm just surprised they even have a store like this. I'm pretty sure most of these are Monster bands." Raven put a CD down, humming happily. "I don't normally go around Bookend, much less New Salem. People running away from me in droves tends to cause stores to close down in a panic."

"Glad to hear that we're changing that." Ed was more or less going through the alternative rock section carefully, not sure what to pick out. Eddy was more of the musical guy in their group. "A lot of the band's sound really familiar, though. I'm pretty sure Eddy mentioned some of them before."

"_There's a tendency within Monster and Legend culture to somewhat parody or make a pun off human bands or other activities. Why do you think we call basketball casketball?" _Ghoulia chuckled at the pun. _"I can't say they're all excellent, but a clever one does shine through occasionally."_

"Jeez, way to make this all sound spiteful." Raven finished picking out her selection and was ready to start ringing things up. "Then again, I don't think I've actually thought about why we do that. I just figured that was a thing we did and didn't bother changing."

"That's amazing! I honestly just accepted it when we got here." Ed picked out a random band or two that he thought looked interesting. "Double D would want to talk about that kind of stuff. Said something about a pasta when he started hearing 'hexcellent' or something."

"I think he was talking about linguistics, Ed." Raven chuckled, paying for her own stuff. The other two followed behind and did the same. "He would want to study that, though. Sounds right up his alley."

Thankfully, it didn't take long to pay for their stuff, especially since they had a low amount to bring up this time. They must've stayed in there a long time, though, since it took them a second to adjust to the sunlight.

"Wow, we were in there a while." Ed shrugged, putting the CD's into his pocket. "Hopefully, the comic bookstore isn't closed. I heard a new issue of _Deadfast_ was coming out."

"_I double checked, and it should be. I'm glad you actually got into it." _Ghoulia seemed awfully proud of converting another person into a fan. _"I certainly hope you like it, Raven. I know it doesn't exactly align with your other interests."_

"Hey, anything's better than just sitting around in my room. Plus, with Royal/Rebel activity going up, I need something to distract me." Raven thought about for a second before nervously smiling. "Just start me off with something simple, okay? I don't think I'm ready to deal with something already big."

"_Don't worry about it, the store usually has a large selection. Maybe I can even recommend some manga if you have the time."_ The three stayed quiet for a long moment before they decided to speak up again. _"Are things getting really tough at Ever After? I figured a surge would happen occasionally."_

"Eddy said Apple's been talking about destiny lately." Ed rubbed the back of his neck, unsure if he should really add onto things. "He says that if you want, he could get her to stop. You'll need to tell him, though, just in case he decides to use your dorm to prank her."

"It's fine. Not really anything new, honestly. Though that doesn't mean it isn't annoying." Raven sighed, adjusting a bag on her shoulder. "I kinda get why she's being so insistent, but I swear she's been obsessing over it. I'm starting to wonder if I should just get someone to replace me to get her off my back."

"Why don't you do that?" Ed actually couldn't help but wonder why that wasn't brought up before. It seemed pretty obvious, even to him. "The story would still go on. Somebody else just poisons her."

"_No one's actually sure if that would work. As far as anyone knows, the stories are connected to family lines and family lines alone." _Ghoulia didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, but that was what she knew from her own research. _"Maybe if some Legends had tried things out early on, we'd have an answer, but there's no way to tell it works until the crucial moment the story has to start in."_

"Either way, it sounds like I'm screwed. I'm starting to wonder if not signing the Book of Legends was a good move after all." Raven didn't like saying it, but it had been weighing on her mind for a while now. "I wonder if I should just talk to Grimm about it. At least the school might stop fighting."

"_I wouldn't think that. Just because you decided to relent doesn't mean anyone else will." _The zombie really wished she'd stop being put into this position. _"If anything, it'll make the pressure much worse. I'm sorry to say this, but you're in a very precarious situation here."_

Raven sighed loudly at this, the mood going down with it. Ghoulia seemed to be depressed by her own words as well, slouching a bit. Ed tried not to panic, but he couldn't help but desperately look around himself for a distraction.

"Hey!" He pointed in the direction of the movie theatre, not entirely sure what caught his eye until his mouth said it before he did. "Isn't that Draculaura and Clawd over there?"

The distraction did indeed work for the time being, especially since it happened to be true. The vampire and werewolf were walking out the place, happily chatting with each other about what they apparently watched. They were even holding hands.

"Wait, wasn't Clawdeen talking about those two acting weird while we were at Gloom Beach?" Raven remembered the werewolf complaining about it and being suspicious. "Are they on a _date?_ Hopefully Clawdeen won't be too mad if she hears about it."

"_I have it on good authority that she most likely will be. Though, that wholly depends on how long this has been going on."_ Ghoulia raised an eyebrow before noticing something else. _"I believe we have more pressing concerns than that, however."_

Ed didn't have the time to be confused before he noted one particular vampire in the crowd nearby started moving towards the couple. It was Bram, though he didn't necessarily know this, nor anything about the confrontation from earlier. All he did now was that he didn't like the look on his face and what looked to be a drink he looked ready to throw.

It didn't take him much effort to move in front of him, grabbing the soda before it could even take flight.

"Thank for that, I was starting to get thirsty!" He said it loud enough so that Draculaura and Clawd could hear him. He barely noticed the gasps and the quick footsteps from Ghoulia and Raven heading towards them. He took a sip. "Oh, original Pepsi? Man, that would definitely get stick if it got on somebody, wouldn't it?"

"Uh," Bram looked completely overwhelmed, his master plan having crumbled at the seams. "You're welcome? I was just going-"

"Are you sure?" Ed grabbed the teens arm, holding him in place. The vampire couldn't get out of his grip, increased strength or not. "It looked like you wanted to talk with Draculaura and Clawd. Seemed like you had something on your mind."

"Nope, not at all. I thought they were some other couple I knew." Bram did his best to backpedal, still unable to break out of the boy's grip. "There's nothing I was going to do or say. I promise!"

"Really?" Ed leaned forward, smile getting wider until it nearly split his face. Shadows danced behind him, tentacles at the ready. "Do you promise that? Don't lie to me."

"I promise!" Bram's arm was finally let go as he pitifully ran away once again. It would've been funny if it hadn't been somewhat pathetic to watch.

Ed certainly didn't laugh either way. He didn't enjoy doing this type of stuff.

"I really don't get how you, of all people, act scary more often than I'm supposed to." Raven tried to joke at first, though it was shaky as she side eyed the couple they interrupted.

"Hey, everybody!" Draculaura tried to deflect from the very awkward situation they'd been put into. "Me and Clawd were just hanging out! We wanted to see this movie and thought, hey, maybe we could get a discount if we pretended to be a couple-"

"_Laura, please stop. You've never been a good liar." _Ghoulia shook her head, relaxing from the narrowly avoided incident. This was going to be more complicated than they thought. _"I think it's about time you explained what was happening here. Preferably in front of everyone else."_

Clawd looked like he wanted to help the vampire with the lie for a second before noting the serious looks on everyone's faces. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before deadpanning. "My sister is going to kill me."

Ed hummed agreement, sipping away at the soda all the while.

* * *

It was in his office that old Van Hellscream sat, going through the files of each student he could find. He made sure to keep busy as much as possible, especially around any of the teachers that came to welcome him. It wasn't hard work so far, which he was thankful for since it gave him time to work on other things.

His phone rang, giving him pause. Carefully putting some papers aside, he grabbed it, calmly accepting the call.

"Mr. Badwolf! I see you've been keeping busy." To the outside observer, it would sound like he was being cheerful. To someone who knew better, they would've realized how smug it sounded. "Do you have the files I asked for?"

The voice on the other end remained silent, though anger was practically reeking from the phone in waves. Hellscream only smiled at the silence, humming softly. It was eventually pierced when a gruff sigh emanated from the other man.

"_Yes."_ Badwolf sounded like this information was forcibly taken out of him, which it technically was. _"I've got everything you asked for. Which means you'll be keeping those files hidden, correct?"_

"But of course! I wouldn't want to break up our partnership now, would I?" A rough groan was Hellscream's reply. "I'm sorry, did I say something to offend you?"

"_Do not call this a partnership. If you didn't have those pictures, I wouldn't be a part of this."_ Badwolf was going to borderline rant at this point and this caused Hellscream to frown. _"If I had my way, you would already be out of town, memories wiped-"_

"Yes, yes, I know how you feel. But things aren't going your way. That's why you're working with me here." Hellscream heard a knock on the door. He sighed dramatically, seeing who it was. "I'll have to call you back. My 'boss' is coming in, so email me those files soon."

"_Wait-" _Badwolf didn't have the time to get in a reply before Hellscream turned off the call. Hellscream waved the form of Bloodgood in, who was carrying her own stack of files with her.

The woman was not Bloodgood, though, as her form began to shift, changing into something different. Bloodgood's form was eventually replaced with a woman looking straight from the Victorian era, with a large hairdo to match. Her hair was green with hints of gray, horned glasses perched on a sharp nose, and vines for legs that carried her over to him. She dropped the stack of papers with a sneer.

"I hope your happy. It took me hours of being in little Bloodgood's form to find these things, so you better appreciate it." The woman flicked a paper over to him. "I'd suggest thanking me for this before this is over."

"Ms. Crabgrass, I will certainly find a way to repay before this is over." Hellscream grabbed some of them with interest, looking over them with a raised eyebrow. "But if we want to ensure the safety of humanity, we need to keep working hard."

"I still don't get why starting a little war in a high school will help protect humanity." Crabgrass moved a chair towards her, lazing into it. "Seems like a waste of time to me. Can't we just scare the brats into never coming out?"

"Yes, but that wouldn't work long term. We need to make sure Monsters, along with Legends, keep fighting with one another instead of fighting humans. Fear turns to anger faster than one would think." Hellscream looked over a few more files before putting them down. "I am grateful for your help, though. Spying on the school has certainly been fruitful."

"Well, Bloodgood was getting too big for her britches. I don't know what she was planning, but it was obviously something big." She pointed at a particular set of files with interest. "I'd suggest checking some of the new arrivals. I think they're somehow connected to all of this."

"I'll make sure too. Oh, that reminds me," He leaned forward, putting his hands together. "Where did you put Bloodgood, anyway? Gorgon powder isn't cheap, and we need to make sure her statue it preserved for when we get out of here. Better that she gets all the blame when things go south around here."

"She's in the Catacombs, exactly where you asked me to put her." Crabgrass rolled her eyes, leaning into her seat further. She wasn't leaving anytime soon, especially since she was doing all the heavy lifting. "This is needlessly complex, you know. I really don't understand why you're going to all these lengths."

Hellscream laughed loudly at that, startling the woman. She wasn't proud of it, but hearing the booming laugh caused her to shiver, especially as it deepened over time.

"Ms. Crabgrass, I'm one of the greatest Monster Hunters in the world!" He chuckled darkly, grabbing a few more files with a flourish. "Plans like this are my bread and butter. You certainly shouldn't be surprised."

And he'd be sure to keep that reputation if things worked out.

Somebody had to protect humanity, right?

* * *

**I don't know why I write Ed as being scary so often. Maybe I like to think he can scare people as his sister does to him, he just doesn't usually use it as much.**

**Either way, you know who the villain is now. And don't worry, Bloodgood is fine! Just indisposed of at the moment. And Badwolf would have nothing to do with this if he had an actual say in this.**

**Like I said before, if you make fanart or fanfiction, feel free to link me to it! I always enjoy finding some it when I can.**

**Without further ado, I'll see you all next chapter.**


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